The Phoenix Network:
 
 
About  |  Advertise
 
Big Hurt  |  CD Reviews  |  Classical  |  Jazz  |  Live Reviews  |  Music Features
unsexy2011_1000x50b

Ratatat | LP4

XL (2010)
By CARRIE BATTAN  |  June 4, 2010
2.5 2.5 Stars

OTR060410_ratatat_main 

Having exhausted a structured hybridization of cinematic electronic flourishes, moody organ backdrops, hip-hop undertones, and rock riffs on their first two full-lengths, Ratatat took the leftovers of the LP3 recording sessions, added some outlandish effects, and mixed the tracks to death. The result is LP4, which sounds a whole lot like the Ratatat of yesteryear, but with global embellishments, non-sequitur vocal interludes, and sprawling hooks. A good deal of the album (particularly the first half) uses the new-fangled instrumentation sporadically, as an afterthought to a slightly darker version of the duo’s time-honored techniques. This is where LP4, though flawlessly produced, is messy. “Neckbrace,” for example, opens with a woman saying, “They were just getting ready to knock me out with a baseball bat,” then segues into unidentifiable housebeat boxing, heavy orchestration, and hints of tropicália before introducing any semblance of a hook. But later on, when the duo embrace the experimental instrumentation with gusto, there’s a handful of gems. “Bare Feast,” the disc’s best cut, centers on a lush, endlessly listenable bhangra beat. “Grape Juice City” follows, layering bassy jungle drums under cascading synths and chirps and making for an exotic but impeccably mixed full sound. For these bittersweet few minutes, Ratatat prove they can, and should, dive headfirst into the strange instead of tiptoeing around it.

Related: Gil Scott-Heron | I’m New Here, Titus Andronicus | The Monitor, Jónsi | Go, More more >
  Topics: CD Reviews , Entertainment, Music, RATATAT,  More more >
| More

 Friends' Activity   Popular   Most Viewed 
[ 01/02 ]   Juan Jose Barboza-Gubo: "Cruor - Proelium - Cervus"  @ Fourth Wall Project
[ 01/02 ]   “Double Solitaire: The Surreal Worlds Of Kay Sage And Yves Tanguy”  @ Davis Museum at Wellesley College
[ 01/02 ]   “Double Solitaire: The Surreal Worlds Of Kay Sage And Yves Tanguy”  @ Davis Museum at Wellesley College
ARTICLES BY CARRIE BATTAN
Share this entry with Delicious
  •   MAIN ATTRAKIONZ | 808S AND DARK GRAPES II  |  September 07, 2011
    Following a steady stream of low-budget tracks, mixtapes, and videos posted on their Tumblr this year, the Bay-area stoner rap duo of Squadda B and MondreM.A.N. (a/k/a Main Attrakionz) have raised the stakes by offering up something that resembles a traditional release.
  •   LIL B | I'M GAY (I'M HAPPY)  |  July 19, 2011
    Gone are the endless declarations of hoes on his dick in groups of 30 and 100; gone are the claims that he is everyone from Ellen Degeneres to Miley Cyrus.
  •   SHABAZZ PALACES | BLACK UP  |  June 09, 2011
    The musical reincarnation of Ishmael Butler, the elusive Seattle rapper who makes up one-third of the semi-popular '90s jazz-rap act Digable Planets under the name Butterfly, is a lot to unpack.
  •   FRIENDLY FIRES | PALA  |  June 07, 2011
    For a densely layered, expertly produced dance-rock album, this second full-length from British three-piece Friendly Fires is perplexingly bland.
  •   THE WEEKND | HOUSE OF BALLOONS  |  April 27, 2011
    Self-release (2011)

 See all articles by: CARRIE BATTAN

MOST POPULAR
RSS Feed of for the most popular articles
 Most Viewed   Most Emailed