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Born out of fierce friendship and a mutual affection for melody, Chicagos Ratboys anchored by the partnership of Julia Steiner and Dave Sagan aim to write songs that tell stories and honor the intimacy of memory, according to Steiner.
GN, the groups second full-length album via Topshelf Records, offers a bevy of tales, laments and triumphs, which recount near-tragedies by the train tracks, crippling episodes of loneliness, remembrances of a deceased family pet with freezer burn, and on and on. The songs shift and breathe as worlds all their own, tied together by the groups self-proclaimed post-country sound, which combines moments of distortion and a DIY aesthetic with a devotion to simple songwriting and ties to the Americana sounds of years past.
Drawing influence from the down-to-earth sincerity of late-90s Sheryl Crow and the confessional confidence of Kim Deal and Jenny Lewis, the songs on GN (aka goodnight) largely detail experiences of saying goodbye, finding your way home, and then figuring out what the hell to do once you're back, says Steiner. The songs chosen to close both sides of the record the slow-burning Crying About the Planets and quizzical Peter the Wild Boy unpack the respective journeys of two real people who were quite literally lost and found. Crying tells the survival story of Antarctic explorer Douglas Mawson from a first-person perspective, and Peter reflects on the life of a feral child in Germany who was eventually adopted by the King of England, according to Steiner. Writing as and about these people is the best way I can attempt to empathize with them and really just wrap my mind around these bits of history that otherwise might not get talked about. And it helps me understand my own experiences a little bit better, she says.
Certain personal stories the tour adventures recapped in GM, the struggle to learn to show affection as divulged in Molly find Ratboys just as eagerly exploring subject matter that comes from within, and then illustrating the highs and lows with soaring hooks and plaintive ones. Even in the moments that lie somewhere between bliss and misery, a tension persists between Steiner's sweet vocal delivery and Sagan's physical, almost-off-the-hinges guitar playing that lends each song a deeper sense of color and movement.
Steiner and Sagan felt the impulse to make music together from the get-go they first met as university students, quickly put out an EP together, and started performing as an acoustic two-piece in dorm rooms and backyards. During the next few years, the friends traveled separately, eventually reunited, and recorded what would become the first Ratboys record, AOID, which the folks at GoldFlakePaint describe as a gleaming, joyous, raucous display of melodic indie-rock.
After a year and a half of touring the US and Europe as a plugged-in full band (featuring the additions of drums, bass, and trumpet), the members of Ratboys returned to Chicago and holed up at Atlas Studios for two weeks to record with engineer Mikey Crotty (who had previously worked with the group on the songs 'Not Again' and 'Light Pollution'). This time around, we were lucky enough to feature the talents of friends who play the pedal steel, accordion, cello and violin to give the songs an extra something, says Steiner. Dave finally got to show off his ridiculous skills on the pocket piano, and the whole thing felt like one big loving experiment.
Ratboys keep the good times going in 2018 with a new EP called GL (aka Good Luck). Featuring four songs recorded shortly after the GN sessions, this new companion piece expands upon themes of isolation and memory, while focusing closely on the ups and downs of personal relationships.
Each of the songs on GL sounds like its own little world, which is what we set out to do, Steiner says. With each song sounding distinct from the rest, the EP offers up four different takes on the sounds of heartache.
On the heels of their newest release, you can find Ratboys on the road, playing songs old and new all over North America and Europe.
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Hailing from Madison, WI and Viroqua, WI, Isaac deBroux-Slone and Raina Bock were introduced as infants, and went on to transform their life-long friendship into the band Disq in their early teens.
Raised by artistically-inclined parents, Raina grew up attending Waldorf schools and learned to play multiple instruments at a very young age, while Isaac spent countless hours teaching himself to produce and record music in his moms basement. After honing his sensibilities recording his and Raina's early work, he went on to record Disq's first full effort, 2016s mini-LP, Disq 1. Isaac then began recording his friends bands in that same basement and while both members were still in their teens, Disq released their first project, helped usher in other new talent through Isaacs engineering work and opened shows for the likes of Whitney, Twin Peaks, Jay Som, and Quilt as those bands toured through Madison.
In January 2019, Disq released a 7 single titled Communication b/w Parallel as part of Saddle Creek's prestigious Document Series, along with an accompanying video shot in and around the rolling hills of Viroqua, WI. Upon release, Communication was hailed as one of The Faders 20 Best Rock Songs, and one of Stereogum's 90 Favorite Songs of 2018.
The band whose line up has grown to include Brendan Manley, Logan Severson, and Shannon Connor made its debut at SXSW in March of 2019, having been named one of NPRs Austin 100 bands to watch, and NMEs Five New Bands to Check Out. Following their showcases in Austin, Disq was among Paste Magazines 20 Best Acts at SXSW and made VinylMeNows list of 10 Best Artists We Saw at SXSW 2019.
The band is currently recording its first full-length release in Madison and Los Angeles, and bringing its homegrown brand of psych-soaked power-pop to stages across the country.
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UbicaciónThe Shitty Barn (Ver)
506 East Madison
Spring Green, WI 53588
United States
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