In the genre of guitar electronica (which is pretty damn niche), Ratatat ruled supreme during my high school and early college days. These guys were the epitome of Brooklyn hipsters before it was fashionable to be a Brooklyn hipster, recording their neo-psychedelic electronic rock album in their bassist’s Crown Heights apartment during the resurgence of garage rock in the early aughts. It was The Strokes meets Justice, and I couldn’t get enough of it at the time– everything about them seemed like it belonged to a different time period in a chic country like France or something. They were both foreign and familiar at the same time.
Twenty years later I still dig Ratatat and it remains my favorite album by the band (Classics is a close second). Whether it be the iconic opener “Seventeen Years” which still sends shivers down my spine when I hear it to the club scene dance party soundtrack that is “Germany to Germany”, this album is filled with infectiously catchy instrumental Indie rock that never fails to get me from bopping my head along.
Standout Songs: “Seventeen Years”, “Breaking Away”, “Germany to Germany”
