One of my most anticipated new albums of 2010 is LP4 by Ratatat. This is the instrumental duo’s fourth full-length and it does not disappoint. Known for mixing beat, synths and guitar sampling, Ratatat continues to keep it fresh!
“Drugs” is the second track on the album and one of my favorites. It starts off with a man speaking French, a soft piano and quiet effects that spring up visions of strings, guitars and organs. It sounds very soft and appealing, but then it comes in hard and turns into a standard Ratatat track! About a minute in, the beat, grungy guitars and synths flood your ears. The best part is the slow, solo-riffic guitar melody.
One thing I notice right away about LP4 is that there seems to be a little bit more experimentation or willingness to expand. “Neckbrace” is an example because the song isn’t limited to the synths, guitars and beat machines. There are countless effects in this song and unless you were the producer of members of the band, you wouldn’t even be able to keep track of all of them! It has a very tribal, jungle sound with sounds that remind you of being alone in a tropical jungle.
“Grape Juice City” is an interesting track that starts with a more thick-toned snare and hip-hop beat that’s heavy on the bass but then gives to way to short, accordion strokes. The floating bleeps that Ratatat seem to implement often make a cameo here along with talk box effects and those great, heavy synths and harpsichord sound!
LP4 is different from other Ratatat albums in the sense that, as I said before, they seemed to open the doors to more experimentation. Although I absolutely love Ratatat’s first three albums, they all pretty much had the same basic formula when it came to instrumentation and sound. LP4 changes that and only adds to this duo’s awesomeness!
Due to the shortage of Ratatat videos availability on YouTube, here are videos of a couple other songs that can be found on LP4: “Mahalo” and “Party with Children”
Buy the album at our record store on Amazon
Here are some other pages on EnterTheShell.com you may enjoy:
- Free Song Download – “I’m Da Best” by Shunda K
- Album Review – Pink Friday by Nicki Minaj
- The Enter The Shell Show – Savvy Live
- A Look Back at the Shell – 2010
- Sara’s List of Most Anticipated Albums of 2011
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