no. 36 — AOID by Ratboys

I think my love for Ratboys snuck up on me. The first time I listened, I enjoyed it but wasn’t immediately drawn in the way I can be with other artists. Often when I love a band at first listen, I’ll sit listening to their music with their lyrics in front of me, actively trying to learn the words so I can sing along, because I think singing along is the most fun aspect of driving / going to shows. I also love reading the lyrics and scanning them for meaning the way I do with poetry[1]. All this to say I was surprised when a few months later when a song from AOID came on shuffle, I found myself singing along and not knowing the artist. When I checked and saw it was Ratboys, I wondered why it took me so long to associate the songs I had been loving while they played in the background with the name of the band. I couldn’t understand why I hadn’t previously put them on in the foreground, a purposeful act of admiration for a band I really like.

I realized that part of the reason I hadn’t put them on so often was because each time I listened to their music, it seemed brand new. I get something different from these songs every time I listen to them. They’re complex in a way I don’t really know how to describe without using the term “Math Rock,” which I don’t think actually fits them. They have a country twang, a folk undercurrent, and a rock front. They are all so good at their instruments, and although I’ve only seen them live one or two times, they were absolutely the tightest band on the bill. They play so accurately that if I closed my eyes, I felt like they could’ve been playing the CD over the speakers while I stood in an arbitrary crowd.

One of my favorite songs on this album is “MCMXIV.” I love that they name drop their own band name, the chant of “all I am is just a ratboy” is so satisfying to sing along to, to scream in my car while I speed on the NJ Turnpike. The transition from “Folk Song for Jazz” to “Postman Song” is so seamless that until I looked at the track list while listening just now, I thought they were one song. “Our Mortician’s Daughter” is ?? so good?? That guitar solo gets me every time. Really makes me wish I knew how to play guitar.

I also love their 2017 album GN, and I haven’t listened to their newest album from 2020, Printer’s Devil enough yet, but I’m excited for it too to be added into my big playlist of things I love. However, all this said, my absolute favorite thing about Ratboys, is the way Bernie Sanders said their name when they played one of his rallies. It honest to god brings me so much joy every single time I hear that man say “thank you to the uh… Ratboys for the music.” I would call it an intrusive thought, but the reality is that it’s more than welcome.

See Bernie say the magical words here, and listen to Ratboys here.

[1] I was an English major for a reason, sue me.