WEEK OF 2/28/20

Ratboys / all 📷 : Tina Mead

The Ratboys album release at Lincoln Hall on February 28th was a musical slurry of hard, soft, and everything in between. The evening started with Owen Ashworth performing as Advance Base.

Ashworth is by and large the most modest performer in the Midwest. Before starting, he politely stated in a casual, sleepy voice, “Imma play for half an hour, then Slow Mass, then Ratboys. Thanks for coming out.” Behind a large frame, green knit cap, flannel shirt and blue jeans, the music began. 

As intimate as the set was, the crowd let fly low-key “woos” and soft whistles in admiration after every song. Occasionally, you could hear people in the crowd church-whispering as Advance Base’s synth poured thru like an old pipe organ. This entire set was a stark difference from what was to come.

From their very first note, Slow Mass erupted inside Lincoln Hall like an explosion making the crowd jump. When I first started listening to Slow Mass, I was expecting something in the same vein as ...And You Will Know Us By The Trail Of Dead, but what I got was something far more exterior and raw. 

With Portishead-esque synths behind a wall of hard pounding organic sounds, Slow Mass proved to be great music for kids who fidget. Throughout the entire set, there was so much to look at. From Josh Sparks pounding wildly on the drums, to Mercedes Webb on bass and Dave Collis on guitar playing with each other across the stage, I was beside myself with amazement that a three piece could bring this powerful sound to such a venue. 

Collis is a master of the distortion pedals. I was mesmerized by his seamless skills told through the story of his worn-out Keds. I guess it makes sense that his pedal game was on point considering that bandmate and guitarist Josh Parks was not playing because of his father passing. Dutifully so, the band held true to their art and honored him and his family by doing the set. 

They also mentioned having safe spaces at live shows and OurMusicMyBody before closing with a paired-down version of “Portals to Hell” with just Webb and Collis both on bass. What a poetic finale to a chaotic set.

By my account, Ratboys is a re-imaging of ‘90s alt-rock with all the gnarly dents hammered out. Julia Steiner has a voice and delivery that most of us missed out on when the world of alternative rock ‘n’ roll hit the airwaves in the early ‘90s.

They opened with “Printer’s Devil,” the title track from the new record and maintained a chill motif early on. When they played “Anj,” they broke into a more upbeat tempo. “Victorian Slumhouse” came next and captured that Midwestern sound the same way Tom Petty did. It was truly magical.

Ratboys dug deep in the well playing “Elvis Is In The Freezer” and “Charles Bernstein.” This is about the time when Steiner spilled the beans on the genre of music Ratboys coined to describe their sound: Chillergenic. “Listening” and “Clever Hans” are very much in keeping this convention.

They closed the set with the first two tracks from the new album, “Alien With A Sleep Mask On” and “Listen To,” both favorites of mine. They also treated us to an encore, two oldies but goodies “Not Again” and “Peter The Wild Boy.”  

This record release show was a diverse collection of artists that mirrored the changing nature of Ratboy’s newest album. If you haven’t gotten a copy yet, get it while they’re still available.

-Aaron Pylinski