Category: Features

After more than ten years together, Chicago’s Ratboys have now announced their fourth album, The Window, set for release on 25th August. I’m not quite sure how or why I’ve only just come across Ratboys, but they’re new favourites for sure! Taken from the upcoming album, recent single ‘It’s Alive!’ is filled with all the dreamy, lilting hooks and fuzzy allure I could ever need, and Julia Steiner’s vocals are sugar sweet perfection.

We think one of the best ways to get to know an artist is by asking what music inspires them. So, to celebrate the release of The Window, we caught up with Julia from Ratboys to ask about the music that has inspired her the most. So, read about her five favourite albums, and make sure you check out the album next month, and watch the video for ‘It’s Alive!’ below!

Sufjan Stevens – Age Of Adz
Without thinking too hard, I can honestly say that this is my favourite album of all time. For a long time I kept a CD copy with me anywhere I went, in my purse. It almost felt like a totem, like something to ground myself against and remind myself in weird times – “Okay, this amazing, insane thing still exists and will always continue to exist.” The mix of soulfulness and coldness and playfulness on this record continues to baffle me every time I listen. Like, the stakes seem sky high, but Sufjan is clearly having a blast. Talk about a fully-realized, simply maxed-out piece of work. What the hell?? The final song on the record – ‘Impossible Soul’ – clocks in at slightly more than 25 minutes long and honestly sounds like an entire album unto itself. Sufjan’s at the height of his powers on this one y’all, highly recommended.

The Dodos – Visiter
When I first met our guitarist Dave in college, we did the classic millennial early friendship move of burning CDs for each other. We made mixes, and we also burned full albums for each other – ones that we thought the other hadn’t heard before and might like. I remember that Dave burned me a CD with this entire album on it, and I’ve loved it ever since. This record, maybe more than any other, reminds me viscerally of a time of year (Autumn) and of a time in my life (specifically late 2010, when I was 18). I love how sparse and yet totally complete it sounds. I love how deceptively fast the songs are. I love how the acoustic guitar takes centre stage on every song and also how so many of the songs go places you wouldn’t expect them too. What a perfect tracklist and album sequence. What a lovely trip.  

Deerhoof – Apple O’
This is an album where I remember the exact moment I discovered it. I was in San Francisco in 2013 doing sports coverage for our college magazine, and I managed to get over to Amoeba Records during some downtime. I found this CD in the “local favourites” section and bought it impulsively based on the album art alone. I’ll never forget sliding it into my car when I got back home and getting completely sucked in by the whirl of drums and guitars that came tumbling out of the speakers, like a cyclone. There is so much joy and so much fun apparent in every song on this record… It just sounds like the love of music-making distilled, like four friends having the best time ever in a room together with their instruments. I’ve seen Deerhoof live many times since then, and they always make me smile like an idiot, without fail. Continually the best reminder that making music should be fun!

Juliana Hatfield – Blood
This was probably my most-listened-to album during the era of the pandemic. I simply couldn’t get enough of it (probably much to the annoyance of my bandmates… sorry! Haha). I first heard ‘Had a Dream’ on a college radio station here in Chicago, and I remember I pulled off into a parking lot to Shazam the song and look up the artist. I hadn’t heard of Juliana Hatfield before this album, but I found out that this is her nineteenth album. I was so late to the party, but better late than never, right? This album is truly wild. A lot of it was recorded using drum presets in Garageband. I just love the way it sounds; I love Juliana’s voice and the biting lyrics and the off-the-wall instrumentation. For an artist this far into her career, this record is almost unbelievably adventurous. Who else is making music that sounds like this?? I’m seriously asking, I want more. Also, this record was a great gateway for getting into the rest of Juliana Hatfield’s discography – it’s well worth a deep dive. 

NNAMDÏ – Please Have A Seat
For lists like this, I’ll always include whatever the latest record is from Chicago legend Nnamdi Ogbonnaya aka NNAMDÏ. We’ve been friends with Nnamdi for a long time, ever since Dave and Sean started playing and going to shows at his former DIY house venue, Nnamdi’s Pancake Haus. Nnamdi is one of the most talented drummers ever, and he was always in a million bands, but he started releasing his own music on Bandcamp sometime in 2013 I think. Each album captures his big heart, brilliant instincts, and wide-ranging musical interests, in such a way that I genuinely can’t wait to hear whatever he makes next. You never know what the next record will sound like, and within those records what the next song will sound like, and within that what the next section of each song will sound like. I love artists that do whatever the fuck they want, who aren’t bound by genre concerns or hangups about aesthetic consistency… Nnamdi is the G.O.A.T. in that respect, both in Chicago and everywhere he goes. This latest record is no exception- check out ‘Dibs’ – you’ll see what I mean.

Massive thanks to Julia from Ratboys for sharing her Five Favourites!

The Window, the upcoming fourth album from Ratboys, is set for release on 25th August via Topshelf Records. Pre-order here. And watch the recent video for ‘It’s Alive!’ below:

Photo Credit: Alexa Viscius