Rat & Ratt 
The Rat Album 

Rat & Ratt have created The Rat Album, so everyone can let out their inner rat and jam out.

Every now and then, something happens in my life that feels like the newest and lowest low yet. I get so tempted to shut myself in the house, curl up with a blanket, and put my headphones on with the most depressing music blasting just to feel validated. We all have an album, or song, or band that stands out as our comforting crutch in difficult times and Rat & Ratt have created the opposite of this crutch with their debut release, The Rat Album. 

I think I speak for most people when they say that there are two ways to use music as a coping mechanism. The primary way is the one I already explained; songs that align with how we are feeling because it is validating. The other way, perhaps the one I should try using a bit more often, is to listen to music that is completely different from how you are feeling. The Rat Album is that music, full of silly lyrics, goofy beats, and hilarious ideas that are perfect for distracting a person from the rest of their everyday life or whatever hard times they’ve fallen into. 

Each song on The Rat Album is short, chaotic, and perfectly curated to feel as though a pair of rats truly managed to get their little paws on some instruments and a microphone to tell you exactly how they feel. This is definitely not the type of music that would find its way into mainstream channels, not because it doesn’t fit the criteria for ‘good’ music, but because everything about the lyrical content is totally out of left field (“Burger Lover,” the first track, feels like a lyrical drug trip). A lot of the instrumental elements on the album are reminiscent of music from the 70’s, specifically things that reminded me of the Talking Heads or the B-52’s. 

There are a few songs that really stand out off this memorable record. “One Really Mad Rat” actually hits home, talking about landlords, things not tasting as good as they used to, and the troubles that people are going through… but from a rat’s perspective. “The Cheese Anthem” speaks to the part of me that adores punk. With lyrics like “I’m tired of being a rat / this sewer feels beneath me / but I must go outside and search for some cheese for my rat colony,” it really drives that so-done-with-society feeling. But I’m not trying to feel too many emotions while listening to this album, so the rest of it balances these two songs against seemingly nonsensical tunes and it works perfectly.

So Rat & Ratt didn’t cure the issues in my life, and I think I actually had an existential crisis instead while thinking about being a rat, but The Rat Album is definitely a fun way to let out your inner animal (as long as it’s a rat) and just jam out to some goofy tunes for just shy of 20 minutes.