Ratatat: Classics

Label: XL

Ratatat has the unique ability to sound familiar and fresh all at once. So many bands strive for dubious originality that they lose focus of making music that’s simply good. Ratatat never falls into that trap. The riffs and beats are hardly groundbreaking, but their rock-meets-IDM formula is something truly different in today’s music world. Most important: the tunes are bouncy, joyous and unerringly fun, even recalling some of the experimental work of the Beatles at times. Ratatat’s second album, Classics (no, it’s not a best-of) once again combines rock, electronica, video-game music, cinema soundtracks, and a smattering of other genres, resulting in an all-instrumental sonic fury that never lets up but remains inventive, playful, even a tad wistful at times. An excellent record from one of the most interesting bands today.