Supporting the popular 'release-every-two-years' format, XL Recordings is about to drop Ratatat's "LP3". Just in time for summer cruising in the heat, and flowing through the same vein as 06's "Classics", Ratatat chooses to stick with the extraneous song names...Shiller, Shempi, Finn, et al, you get the idea. This doesn't bother us over at reduceeverything though, the music is as captivating and intriguing as the Ratatat we have come to love.
The album kicks off with the 7" single released "Shiller" a percussionless guitar rampage through some sort of Victorian era kaleidoscope. Same reverse style synth and guitar solo's, same harpsichord crescendos. "Take me to something I haven't heard" you say? Sure, just skip to track four, set in stone to be the most listened to track on LP3, Mirando's is surely something new to Ratatat. Rambunctious wood percussion, 64bit arpeggiations reminiscent of Crystal Castles, but properly mixed and not 4 octaves to high, and Mid. Eastern sitar loops dance in the same room as the trademark guitars duel high and low with melencholy piano melodies. At just shy of four minutes, it's hardly epic, it's just long enough without turning into some psyc-post-rock anthemata. Actually, congrats on keeping every song on the album within a four minute perimeter, something instrumental artists seem to know nothing about.
Lp3 is Ratatat in every sense that we know them, they pulled off an album that will excite, without falling to far out of their comfort zone, and without redoing Classics.
Lp3 is possibly more optimistic and enthusiastic then the bulk of Classics, but probably not as dependable and responsible. Dance grooves dominate on LP3, where crescendos built on Classics. Change is a good thing, and I commemorate Ratatat on doing just that.
As stars are concerned, Ratatat earns a 7.5 of 10, no thanks on the suspiciously reggae inspired Flynn, but at a tad short of two minutes, we can let it slide.
Ratatat - LP3, Available 7/8/08 on XL.
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