Ratatat - LP3

Artist: Ratatat
Album: LP3
Label: XL Recordings

So far the reception has been positive but unenthusiastic. Pitchfork’s review (written by Nate Patrin) nails the album pretty well both as fodder for TV advertisers looking for something cool and non-distracting to put behind 2009’s forthcoming spots and also as another step in vague global fusion becoming the latest trend in mainstream electro-pop (following in M.I.A.’s path). I agree with both of these observations, though I also see this album as more subtle than Ratatat’s previous work (I’m glad to not hear another “Seventeen Years”) and wish that songs other than “Mirando”—the most palatable to the Timbaland, Pharell, Santogold, M.I.A. taste—would gather some attention. Don’t get me wrong: I love the above artists and the above song, but to me the best parts of this album are not the vaguely international dance pieces but the quieter songs that sound like a twee Air.

Ratatat – “Shempi”

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Though this song doesn’t have that immediate, first-forty-five-seconds hook that will get it radio play, it is a catchy electronic song with excellently-layered sounds.

Ratatat – “Black Heroes”

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More layered sounds falling into one another (including a very pleasant string arrangement). This one won’t be on a Williamsburg shuffle playlist, but I think it (and the album as a whole) is perfect for a long walk and a close listen.

For more info, check out the band’s site (they’re on tour!), listen to their tracks on their myspace, and buy the album.

Filed under electronic, global fusion, jangly |