LP4

In 1999, before we started getting used to the idea of French-style house leading hipsters in droves onto dancefloors, Ratatat began whetting certain prescient appetites with gossamer dance tracks that sounded as if they had been grounded against gravel. It was that unswerving balance between a majestic tunefulness – theirs in particular articulated by a nous for classical music – and a cutting edginess that made Ratatat something of a precursor to the likes of Digitalism and Justice. Moreover, tracks like “Lex” and “Seventeen Years”, where pearlescent guitar hooks beamed in surprising comfort with Bach-like curlicues showed us that the Brooklyn duo could play Daft Punk at their own game, and then some.

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A fun part of music consumption in the digital age is the blossoming art of genre-nomenclature. A quick sniff around the blogosphere reveals a world where bands kicking up similar noise on opposite sides of the planet can be instantly stamped with a newly-minted classification. Perhaps it’s humbling then, to rewind 40 years and give reverence to the likes of Juan Garcia Esquivel, whose zany instrumental pop would later be exquisitely referred to as ‘space-age bachelor-pad music.’

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Wherever you stand with Ratatat, they can't be accused of inconsistency. The New York duo of Mike Stroud and Evan Mast has been stylish and functional from the start, right down to their name, which expresses the same concussive energy as their stomping hooks. Their sound-- slick electro-pop infused with hip-hop-- emerged fully formed on their 2004 self-titled debut, quickly making them a highly recognizable brand, and six years on, it retains the vitality that made it click in the first place.

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Maybe this was inevitable. Nobody has really been denying that Ratatat's trade is in immediate gratification. And when that's the case, it's a difficult feat not to burn out pretty quickly. 2008's LP3, though weak, served at least to reassure Ratatat's audience that the band doesn't want to stagnate; you can't rewrite "17 Years" forever, after all, and it's admirable that they chose not to.

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