Ratatat - LP3
XL/Remote Control
By Jonathan Valenzuela
On their third album, bearing the utilitarian title LP3, Ratatat have continued their theory that you can't change the nature of the guitar, but you can change its habitat.
Hybridising electronica with a hip hop edge, soupçons of world music and a passion for the guitar, they have created something that shines as bright and futuristic as the headlight on a Delorean. ‘Bird Priest' moves with quiet confidence from the get-go, a beat-heavy exercise that metamorphoses into a patchwork of shiny guitar and haunting organ. ‘Dura' is a baroque RnB jam, with its head-nodder beat and reliance on the harpsichord. ‘Mumtaz Khan' pulses with menace like the soundtrack to knife fight in a Bollywood movie.
The hallmark of Ratatat's genius is their willingness to process the absolute hell out of their guitar sounds, warping them almost beyond recognition to create a blueprint for the progression of music for decades to come.
You can listen to Ratatat's 'Dura' right now using the player below