RATATAT
Magnifique
XL
Jul 13, 2015
Web Exclusive
Returning after five years out of the game, Ratatat‘s Mike Stroud and Evan Mast have a lot of catching up to do. Since the release of their fourth full-length, LP4, electronic music has evolved as a multifarious beast swallowing up pop, indie, and rock. None of it makes much sense—which is all part of the thrill.
This lack of coherency probably explains the direction Stroud and Mast have taken with Magnifique. This ain’t the throttling beat-slash-groove melange that symbolised Ratatat’s previous work. Instead, it rotates around guitar-driven gallops, charged with an air of ‘70s nostalgia that touches heavily on disco and pomp-rock.
It’s successful in parts. “Nightclub Amnesia” is a crunching, handclapping swagger of meaty beats and highly glossed guitar licks that tightrope-walk their way across the crispest of basslines. “Cream on Chrome” is another riff-riddled, funk-infused banger, while the sleep walking sequence of “Supreme” and “Drift” dial down the tempo with a run of nocturnal synths and sliding fret lilts.
Despite these charms, Magnifique is less than immersive. The pompous noodling of “Pricks of Brightness” has more than a hint of Wyld Stallyns-style pastiche to its stunted ebbs and gargantuan flows. And while nothing quite grates to the same effect, the likes of “Rome” and “Abrasive” trundle through the motions as tedious sub-efforts.
It appears Ratatat were further behind then they thought. (www.ratatatmusic.com)
Author rating: 5/10
Average reader rating: 8/10
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July 14th 2015
3:41pm
Hope you’re better at stealing bases than reviewing albums Billy Hamilton. I’m still hopeful but just curious where you would rank it with their other albums? (Classics, ratatat, lp3, lp4)
July 18th 2015
2:23pm
I’ve been a print subscriber to Under the Radar for many years and plan to stick with it as long as you are in business. But I too am disappointed in the quality of this review and lack of thought that went into it. Yes, the sound of this new album is not new or terribly innovative but for people who already like Ratatat (or deeply admire their talent like I do) this album deserves more credit. How exactly can a band be “behind”? What the heck does that mean? Behind what? (“The Times”?) That’s just dumb; since when is it a competition to keep up with trends… that’s really weak music crit.