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Music

Why you can’t stop staring at the visual assault of Ratatat

There sure has been a lot of hoo-ha lately on the rock vs electronic music feud. Some say rock is dead while others parry the electronic genre isn’t real music at all. Shots fired, am I right? Clearly no one bothered to give Ratatat that memo. Much in the same way you can’t declare war on terrorism or a dog can’t meow, a genre can’t kill another one. What you can do is bring them together, and no one does it quite like Ratatat.

The enigmatic duo released their fifth album Magnifique, on XL Recordings back in July, firmly establishing why they are one of the pioneers of modern experimental rock. With a distinguished brand of rocktronica brandished gleefully on every track much has been discussed about the band’s sound, but something that hasn’t been touched on nearly enough is how they nail it with their visuals as well.

Ratatat australian tour

Sporting some of the biggest riffs recorded this year, New York duo Ratatat are masters of blending the audio and the visual.

If you had to describe Ratatat with one word it would be multi-dimensional. The band is like an MC Escher sketch; a complex brain teaser that is all the while gorgeous in it’s presentation. Like Daft Punk they’re not the not the kind of band who can only be pigeon-holed as a musical entity. I’m not just talking about their associated artwork and videos wither.

There’s an unmistakable physicality to their work. “Ratatat have returned with a vengeance,” claimed the good folk over at The Fader, and in that respect Magnifique certainly delivered. Each guitar riff bolstered with confidence and an unnerving edge. Just close your eyes and experience the visceral sounds of Nightclub Amnesia or Cream on Chrome. Each explodes with it’s own colour and shape.

Which brings us to Magnifique’s lead single Abrasive. The clip for that song dictated the band’s image moving forward following Magnifique‘s release, and for good reason too. Hand-drawn by E.VAX and produced by Perfect Branch, the clip evokes everything Ratatat has accumulated in their time as a band. Fun fact, E.Vax is in fact Mast, who is by trade also a graphic designer. Naturally a track this funky needs an appropriately funky clip, and that’s what we got. On the surface it feels a little random, just a bunch of blotchy characters in repeated movements. It looks cool sure, but look a little closer and you’ll see the true genius this collaboration has created.

What we have here is a perfect marriage between the music and the visuals. This isn’t as grand a statement as that sounds. There are lot of good music videos, and there are plenty of shit ones too. It doesn’t come down to a deciding factor of budget or label backing, but the execution of the vision. We’ve all seen the standard clip of an artist miming their song at the camera. Ratatat doesn’t just have attitude, they are attitude and that’s something that can’t be half-assed on screen. Taking advantage of the Abrasive‘s majestic riffs and hyperactive production the clip taps into the nature of physical movement.

The band will be bringing their explosive audio and visuals to Australia next week for the first time in four years with Melbourne’s Black Cab playing support, so if you haven’t already be sure snap up your tickets. Or if you’re heading to Meredith Music Festival then be sure to catch them on the big stage too.

Wednesday December 2 – The Tivoli, Brisbane
Thursday December 3 – The Metro, Sydney
Sunday December 6 – 170 Russell, Melbourne