The New York band Ratboy added a surprising new chapter to its growing list of odd-complishments in 2009, releasing Back Roads to Start With, a split CD with Joe Jack Talcum, founding member and principal songwriter of The Dead Milkmen. Though they appear to be odd bedfellows, Ratboy’s songs find a natural kinship with Talcum’s eloquent, unaffected acoustic lo-fi.
Beginning 10 years ago as a side project, Ratboy has graduated into a main stage concern that has turned some heads, opening the 2008 Mountain Jam festival, winning Jim Dunlop’s Band of the Week honors in July of 2009, and touring the northeast in support of one full-length CD (2007’s Wading in the Balance), a live EP in 2008, and now the split with Talcum.
Straddling the line between song-focused indie rock and the expanded perimeter of the jam scene, Ratboy draws comparisons to Lou Reed, Soul Coughing, Neil Young and Modest Mouse. Ratboy then blends in a dash of surrealism and even silliness, ala Beck or Ween, as the finishing touch on an original modern rock sound.
Sutton, the main songwriter, has performed alongside the Ramones, Phish, and Pete Seeger. Senzatimore, the drummer and informal musical director, is an academy-trained multi-instrumentalist who honors the band’s ethic of unfussy simplicity but is never afraid to express his love of Frank Zappa or John Zorn in subtle and subversive ways. This year also marks lead guitarist John Burdick’s first contributions to the band’s recording and songwriting process, after two years in the live lineup.
2010 finds the band hitting their stride as a limber, exploratory live group and deepening their voice and range as songwriters. With a ripe batch of new songs and a rapidly filling calendar, Ratboy intends to make 2010the other year of the rat.
More info myspace.com/ratboy
