Ratboys - "Light Night Mountains All That"

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Photo by Miles Kalchik

Of all the bands mixing indie rock and country/Americana, Ratboys have been one of our favorites for quite a while. The band's latest single, "Light Night Mountains All That," shows off their more indie rock side. In fact, the song is almost all indie rock, with a heavier dose of squalling and driving guitars than we're used to from the Chicago band. It's fast, and has a surprising sound of if early Radiohead were on Merge Records. Even though a song title like "Light Night Mountains All That" may sound like it would lean towards country, it's a pogo friendly epic, especially with its six minute plus length. We're always excited to hear what Ratboys are up to, but this new single has piqued our interest even more than normal.

Singer/guitarist Julia Steiner says of her band's latest single:

“My original idea was to write an ultra-high energy folk song, in the style of The Dodos’ Visiter, with somewhat spooky, mysterious, and pastoral lyrics – like what Chris Otepka of The Heligoats might conjure up on a mushroom trip. This song really took shape during our initial writing session up at the Driftless Cabin in Wisconsin last March; the guys and I nearly went insane fleshing out the arrangement and its odd timings together. I wrote the lyrics during that original demoing trip, centered around the idea of a fantastic, rural vision-quest where the days and nights blend together and nothing is quite as it seems.”

You can watch the video for "Light Night Mountains All That" below. The single is out now on New West Records. For more on Ratboys, check out the band's website. Upcoming tour dates are below the video and include February 28 at The Sinclair in Cambridge, MA.


Wed. Feb. 25 - Detroit, MI @ El Club
Thu. Feb. 26 - Toronto, ON @ Lee's Palace ~
Fri. Feb. 27 - Montreal, QC @ Bar Le Ritz PDB ~
Sat. Feb. 28 - Cambridge, MA @ The Sinclair ~
Tue. March 3 - Philadelphia, PA @ First Unitarian Church ~
Thu. March 5 - Brooklyn, NY @ Warsaw ~
Fri. March 6 - Washington, DC @ 9:30 Club ~
Sat. March 7 - Richmond, VA @ The Broadberry ~
Sun. March 8 - Durham, NC @ Motorco Music Hall ~
Tue. March 10 - Asheville, NC @ The Grey Eagle ~
Wed. March 11 - Atlanta, GA @ Terminal West ~
Thu. March 12 - Nashville, TN @ The Basement East ~
Fri. March 13 - Louisville, KY @ Zanzabar ~
Sat. March 14 - Milwaukee, WI @ Vivarium
Tue. March 24 - St. Louis, MO @ Off Broadway •
Wed. March 25 - Kansas City, MO @ recordBar •
Thu. March 26 - Fayetteville, AR @ George's Majestic Lounge •
Fri. March 27 - Dallas, TX @ Club Dada •
Sat. March 28 - Austin, TX @ Mohawk •
Mon. March 30 - Albuquerque, NM @ Launchpad •
Tue. March 31 - Phoenix, AZ @ Valley Bar •
Wed. April 1 - San Diego, CA @ Soda Bar •
Fri. April 3 - Los Angeles, CA @ Teragram Ballroom •
Sat. April 4 - San Francisco, CA @ August Hall •
Mon. April 6 - Vancouver, BC @ Biltmore Cabaret •
Tue. April 7 - Seattle, WA @ Neumos •
Wed. April 8 - Portland, OR @ Aladdin Theater •
Fri. April 10 - Boise, ID @ Shrine Social Club •
Sat. April 11 - Salt Lake City, UT - The Urban Lounge •
Mon. April 13 - Denver, CO @ Bluebird Theater •
Wed. April 15 - Omaha, NE @ The Waiting Room •
Thu. April 16 - Minneapolis, MN @ Fine Line •
Fri. April 17 - Madison, WI @ Atwood Music Hall •
Sat. April 18 - Chicago, IL @ The Vic Theatre +

~ w/ Florry   • w/ villagerrr   + w/ Free Range

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