SINGIN TO AN EMPTY CHAIR

Description

Despite its title, the new album by Ratboys, Singin' to an Empty Chair, is not defined by what is missing. Rather, it marks the beginning of an important dialogue with someone close to singer Julia Steiner, from whom she feels distant. The music of the band's sixth studio album – their first with New West Records – fills the space left by this person with 11 songs showcasing Ratboys at the height of their power — vibrant, sparkling, as confident as ever, and perhaps more emotionally questioning than ever. The Chicago-based four-piece followed their critically acclaimed 2023 album The Window by reuniting with co-producer Chris Walla to begin recording in a rural cabin in Wisconsin before taking the songs to the renowned Electrical Audio studios of Steve Albini in Chicago, and then to Rosebud studio in Evanston, Illinois. The results range from the upbeat power-pop of "Anywhere" to the irresistible post-country of "Penny in the Lake," along with piercing ballads like "Just Want You to Know the Truth" and an exhilarating detour into the extraterrestrial with "Light Night Mountains All That," which Steiner dubs the band's gigantic "wormhole jam." Singin' to an Empty Chair also marks the first Ratboys album written since Steiner began therapy, which the singer/songwriter attributes to the clarity found in the album's unflinching analyses of relationships and self. Appropriately, while the album begins by reaching out into the void, it concludes with a scene of serenity – all while weaving together frank honesty, humor, chaos, and whimsy over time. "Not everything is dark," says Steiner. "The experience of making this record really gives me hope for what’s to come."