Ratboys | Under the Radar Magazine Under the Radar | Music Blog for the Indie Music Magazine
Friday, March 29th, 2024  

News

The Decemberists Share First New Song in Six Years, “Burial Ground,” and Announce Tour

The Song Features James Mercer of The Shins; Ratboys to Open Almost All Dates

Feb 06, 2024

The Decemberists have shared their first new song in six years, “Burial Ground.” James Mercer of The Shins provides backing vocals on the song. They have also announced some new North American tour dates for this spring and summer. Ratboys will be the opener on almost all the dates. More

Ratboys Announce New Spring U.S. Tour Dates, Ducks Ltd. to Support

The Window Out Now via Topshelf; Watch Their Recent Colbert and CBS Saturday Morning Performances

Jan 23, 2024

Chicago indie rockers Ratboys have announced some new U.S. tour dates for this spring in honor of their latest album, The Window, which was #1 on our Top 100 Albums of 2023 list. Ducks Ltd. will support all dates of the March/April tour. More

Dec 23, 2023

Here we go again, racing to December’s finish line, eager to put another chaotic year in the rearview and nervous about what the next 12 months have in store for us. More

9 Best Songs of the Week: The Mountain Goats, Mitski, Ratboys, A. Savage, and More

Plus L’Rain, Anjimile, GUM, Patio, and a Wrap-up of the Week’s Other Notable New Tracks

Aug 25, 2023

Welcome to the 26th Songs of the Week of 2023. Last week’s Songs of the Week was our first one after a month-long hiatus and there were a lot of strong choices (plus we put together a playlist of all the great songs we missed while on vacation). This week, the pickings weren’t as plentiful, but there were still some new tracks we liked. More

Aug 25, 2023

Chicago indie rockers Ratboys have released a new album, The Window, today via Topshelf. Now that it’s out you can stream the whole thing here. Plus today we posted our new interview with the band about The Window, as well as our rave review of the album (both written by Mark Moody). More

Ratboys Share New Song “Morning Zoo”

The Window Due Out August 25 via Topshelf

Aug 10, 2023

Chicago’s Ratboys have shared a new song titled “Morning Zoo,” which is the latest song from their upcoming studio album The Window. More

Ratboys - Share new single “Morning Zoo”

Album The Window due August 25th via Topshelf Records

Aug 10, 2023

Chicago’s Ratboys who release their new album, The Window, on August 25th share new track Morning Zoo,” More

14 Best Songs of the Week: Blonde Redhead, S. Carey & John Raymond, Ratboys, Sampha, and More

Plus Lael Neale, Blur, The Last Dinner Party, and a Wrap-up of the Week’s Other Notable New Tracks

Jun 30, 2023

Welcome to the 23rd Songs of the Week of 2023. This week our writers and editors Andy Von Pip, Caleb Campbell, Celine Teo-Blockey, Mark Moody, and Scott Dransfield all weighed in which songs were best and we came up with the stacked list below. We settled on a Top 14 this week, with lots of honorable mentions. More

Ratboys Share Video For New Song “The Window”

The Window Due Out August 25 via Topshelf

Jun 29, 2023

Chicago indie rockers Ratboys have shared a music video for their latest song, “The Window,” which is the title track for their upcoming album. More

13 Best Songs of the Week: Ratboys, Madeline Kenney, Alan Palomo, This Is the Kit, and More

Plus Lightning Dust, Glasser, Julie Byrne, and a Wrap-up of the Week’s Other Notable New Tracks

Jun 09, 2023

Welcome to the 21st Songs of the Week of 2023. The theme this week was horns, three of the songs in the Top 4 feature some sort of brass instrument (saxophone, etc.). Stricken with indecision, we settled on a Top 13 this week. More

Jun 06, 2023

Chicago rockers, Ratboys, have announced the release of their sixth studio album The Window, and shared a music video of its new single, “It’s Alive!” More

13 Best Songs of the Last Two Weeks: Angel Olsen, Ratboys, Feist, The New Pornographers, and More

Plus ALL HANDS_MAKE LIGHT, Caroline Rose, Nation of Language, Indigo De Souza, and a Wrap-up of the Last Two Week’s Other Notable New Tracks

Mar 17, 2023

Welcome to the tenth Songs of the Week of 2023. We didn’t do a Songs of the Week last week because I was sick with a bad cold (which still lingers) and we were putting the finishing touches on our latest print issue. So this week’s Songs of the Week encompasses songs from the last two weeks. More

Julien Baker Announces 2021/2022 North American and European Tour Dates

Tour Will Feature Supporting Performances by Katie Malco, Thao, Dehd, and Ratboys

Apr 06, 2021

Julien Baker has just announced a string of tour dates for later this year. Yes, you read that right, new tour dates! Katie Malco will be the opening act for all North American tour dates, with Thao as support for the September 2021 dates and Dehd supporting the October/November 21 dates. Ratboys will be the opening act for all of the 2022 European dates. More

10 Best Songs of the Week: Japanese Breakfast, St. Vincent, Xiu Xiu, Ratboys, and More

Plus Silk Sonic, Mdou Moctar, James, and a Wrap-up of the Week's Other Notable New Tracks

Mar 05, 2021

Welcome to the eighth Songs of the Week of 2021. It was a fairly quiet week on the news front, with President Joe Biden’s pandemic stimulus bill getting closer to passing in the Senate, but without a minimum wage hike. More

Ratboys Share New Song “Go Outside”

Available Now via Topshelf

Mar 04, 2021

Chicago rock band Ratboys have shared a new song titled “Go Outside.” The country-tinged song is relevant to current times, but was actually written almost a year before the pandemic took hold. It is available now via Topshelf. More



Interviews

Aug 25, 2023

Ratboys’ Julia Steiner is quick to point out that The Window (releasing today on Topshelf) is not a concept album, but it is one in which Steiner and the band return to the theme of love more than a few times. More

Apr 02, 2021

Chicago’s Ratboys are celebrating the 10-year anniversary of their first release in 2021. The core of the band remain Julia Steiner (guitar, vocals) and Dave Sagan (guitar), who have been writing and recording partners from the beginning days of the band. More


Reviews

Oct 30, 2023

Ratboys brought their energetic live show to Denver and Under the Radar was there to see it. More

Aug 25, 2023

Julia Steiner is one of the best songwriters out there at the moment. Ratboys’ previous albums, including the Americana leaning G.N. and more impressionistic (in places) Printer’s Devil, already showcased Steiner’s songwriting prowess. More

Apr 01, 2021

No band has handled quarantine quite as admirably as Chicago’s Ratboys. More

GN

Jul 19, 2017

The ironic universality of American teenage fiction is admirable. Characters cry “nobody gets me,” as we sit at home, headphones on, nodding in agreement; blind to the irony. More