Chicago faves Ratboys will release a new album called The Window on August 25 through Topshelf Records. It is the first record that the band has written collaboratively from start to finish, and the first recorded outside Chicago – with the foursome having travelled to Seattle to work with erstwhile Death Cab For Cutie guitarist Chris Walla.
Vocalist Julia Steiner says: “We spent 2020 demoing the songs, and spent 2021 practicing them. We practiced twice a week for six months, exploring the songs and developing them. We’d send early versions to Chris and he’d give us notes. It went like that for weeks. It was such a dedicated and intentional process.”
That tightness and vivacity is audible in lead single “It’s Alive!”, which finds Steiner singing about the experience of, well, everything that’s buzzing through the atmosphere. It finds her uncertain how she feels about it all “Slow, feeling the wind blow gain, through the walls / I fix something I can’t see, oh, it could be anything”. While she seems on the precipice of spiralling into something negative, Ratboys’ bounding and effusive playing bounces her back from the breach announcing “It’s alive!” It’s a rambunctious and rousing number to open up the new chapter for the band.
Watch the video for “It’s Alive” below or find it on streamers.
Ratboys’ new album The Window arrives on August 25 through Topshelf Records (pre-order/save).
