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Track Listings
| 1. Bilar |
| 2. Drugs |
| 3. Neckbrace |
| 4. We Can't Be Stopped |
| 5. Bob Gandhi |
| 6. Mandy |
| 7. Mahalo |
| 8. Party With Children |
| 9. Sunblocks |
| 10. Bare Feast |
| 11. Graper Juice City |
| 12. Alps |
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
6 of 6 people found the following review helpful
Format:Audio CD
Ratatat are an American duo comprising Evan Mast who plays synth,
bass and undertakes production duties and Mike Stroud, who plays
guitar. LP4 is (not surprisingly) their fourth album. It has a
nicely home-made ambience full of rickety but largely successful
musical ideas. Imagine a scaled down MSTRKRFT with a gentler sense
of humour and you're getting somewhere close.
Opening track 'Bilar' explodes out of the brooding introductory
chords like a broken clockwork toy bouncing off the skirting-boards.
A curiously disconcerting invention.
The sombre central dirge sounds as though it has epic intentions but
the chattering coda and German spoken-word sample segues directly
into the next track 'Drugs' (sporting some thrillingly cheesy guitar
licks!) before it has a chance to realise its erstwhile ambitions.
'Neckbrace' is a particularly fun example of what these
talented gentlemen are capable. The twitchy-scratchy beats
and deconstructed scatty bass voice set up a deliciously funky
background for the cut-and-paste guitar and synth incursions.
The fairground swish and swoop of the miniature 'We Can't
Be Stopped' generates an uneasy dream-like atmosphere.
(Picture a mad clown at the controls of a roller-coaster
in a 1950's American black and white B-movie!)
Likewise, 'Maholo' comes and goes in not much more than
two minutes. There's a slight taste and smell of Hawaii
at work in the duck-and-diving arrangement which pulls
the rug of certainty out from under our feet.
The ambiguous musical imagery is a great part of its charm.
'Bare Feast' comes on like a cross between an Appalachian
hoedown and the prelude to plate-smashing dance at a Greek Wedding.
Mad as a box of frogs in the nicest possible way.
Final track 'Alps' manages to transform a series of particularly
banal melodic ideas into something far more interesting than it
might have been by virtue of the sheer nerve and bravado of its
unpredicatable drive and artfully dynamic forward motion.
The whole album is a journey with no clear beginning, middle
or end but one, none-the-less, which delivers rich rewards
without the need for a neat and tidy final destination.
A singularly fascinating little magical mystery tour.
Recommended.
bass and undertakes production duties and Mike Stroud, who plays
guitar. LP4 is (not surprisingly) their fourth album. It has a
nicely home-made ambience full of rickety but largely successful
musical ideas. Imagine a scaled down MSTRKRFT with a gentler sense
of humour and you're getting somewhere close.
Opening track 'Bilar' explodes out of the brooding introductory
chords like a broken clockwork toy bouncing off the skirting-boards.
A curiously disconcerting invention.
The sombre central dirge sounds as though it has epic intentions but
the chattering coda and German spoken-word sample segues directly
into the next track 'Drugs' (sporting some thrillingly cheesy guitar
licks!) before it has a chance to realise its erstwhile ambitions.
'Neckbrace' is a particularly fun example of what these
talented gentlemen are capable. The twitchy-scratchy beats
and deconstructed scatty bass voice set up a deliciously funky
background for the cut-and-paste guitar and synth incursions.
The fairground swish and swoop of the miniature 'We Can't
Be Stopped' generates an uneasy dream-like atmosphere.
(Picture a mad clown at the controls of a roller-coaster
in a 1950's American black and white B-movie!)
Likewise, 'Maholo' comes and goes in not much more than
two minutes. There's a slight taste and smell of Hawaii
at work in the duck-and-diving arrangement which pulls
the rug of certainty out from under our feet.
The ambiguous musical imagery is a great part of its charm.
'Bare Feast' comes on like a cross between an Appalachian
hoedown and the prelude to plate-smashing dance at a Greek Wedding.
Mad as a box of frogs in the nicest possible way.
Final track 'Alps' manages to transform a series of particularly
banal melodic ideas into something far more interesting than it
might have been by virtue of the sheer nerve and bravado of its
unpredicatable drive and artfully dynamic forward motion.
The whole album is a journey with no clear beginning, middle
or end but one, none-the-less, which delivers rich rewards
without the need for a neat and tidy final destination.
A singularly fascinating little magical mystery tour.
Recommended.
Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta)
Amazon.com:
13 reviews
13 of 15 people found the following review helpful
Ratatat Doesn't Disappoint
8 Jun 2010
While many of these songs were recorded during the same session that produced LP3, the two years of re-working the songs has produced a new sound that is noticeably different than LP3, while still keeping the distinct Ratatat flavor. The pure genius of multi-instrumentalist and producer Evan Mast and guitarist Mike Stroud shines with this new album, keeping the listener regardless of the times played. Overall Amazing Album!!
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
Instrumental album worthy of repeat listens
27 Feb 2011
Format:Audio CD
For an instrumental album, composed and performed by two guys with a synthesizer and a guitar (with a couple engaging sound bites to mix-up the landscape), LP4 is another impressive outing by Ratatat.
How to describe the music on this album? At times, it reminds me (in a good way)of one of those slick, 70's session player albums that Jeff Beck or Boz Scaggs put out. The sound is bright and poppy, the melodies are non-stop, and there is so much going on in each song- in this case, such a wide-variety of synthesized yet enjoyable sounds- that the lack of vocals never gets dull or repetitive. Every song sounds like Ratatat, yet hints at other genres and/or artists in respectful ways. "Neckbrace" sounds like one of the aforementioned '70s tracks, driven by some funk inspired bass. "We Can't Be Stopped" sounds like an Elton John ballad, one of the wonderfully overproduced ones from the '70s. "Bare Feast" dabbles in middle-eastern flavors and would not be out of place on an M.I.A. album, while "Bob Gandhi" can't decide if it belongs on a Talking Heads or TV On the Radio release. Song after song, Ratatat produce their own versions of musical ideas indulged more in depth by other artists without coming across as merely playing lip service.
This is not their best effort, either in terms of consistency of tracks or in terms of staking out new territory. It is, however, undeniably Ratatat, which is original enough to make this electro-pop, percussion driven, synthesizer celebrating release a worthy purchase.
How to describe the music on this album? At times, it reminds me (in a good way)of one of those slick, 70's session player albums that Jeff Beck or Boz Scaggs put out. The sound is bright and poppy, the melodies are non-stop, and there is so much going on in each song- in this case, such a wide-variety of synthesized yet enjoyable sounds- that the lack of vocals never gets dull or repetitive. Every song sounds like Ratatat, yet hints at other genres and/or artists in respectful ways. "Neckbrace" sounds like one of the aforementioned '70s tracks, driven by some funk inspired bass. "We Can't Be Stopped" sounds like an Elton John ballad, one of the wonderfully overproduced ones from the '70s. "Bare Feast" dabbles in middle-eastern flavors and would not be out of place on an M.I.A. album, while "Bob Gandhi" can't decide if it belongs on a Talking Heads or TV On the Radio release. Song after song, Ratatat produce their own versions of musical ideas indulged more in depth by other artists without coming across as merely playing lip service.
This is not their best effort, either in terms of consistency of tracks or in terms of staking out new territory. It is, however, undeniably Ratatat, which is original enough to make this electro-pop, percussion driven, synthesizer celebrating release a worthy purchase.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
The Best Techo-Organic Video Game Soundtrack You Never Heard
21 Nov 2010
Outside of the general categorization of electronica, "LP4" defies a more specific description. When I was exposed to "LP4", its organic, thematic qualities immediately caught my ear. Those familiar with Jean-Michel Jarre may recognize "LP4" as a more playful species of his work, while fans of Daft Punk will also find a lot to relate to. Ratatat takes electronica as seriously as Daft Punk did in the late 90s, but "LP4" is less expressly geared towards dance culture. It will undoubtedly get some heads bobbing, but Ratatat's atmosphere and aesthetic are also geared towards active listening. They mine the creative potential of electronic medium like Trevor Horn and the Art of Noise did in the 80s.
Unlike their elders, however, Ratatat enjoys a technological environment in which electronica has the increasing potential to sound less electronic. This grants a relatively small and underground group like Ratatat the capacity to create music of vast sonic complexity. What took Jarre a roomful of synthesizers and technicians in the 80s now can be done on a club stage with a more efficient and autonomous laptop. This organic side of Ratatat also emerges no small part due to guitarist Mike Stroud. His insistently melodic and sometimes epic style is playfully reminiscent of Queen's Brian May. His use of processing creates walls of guitar that certainly recall May's studio approach.
Upon listening to "LP4," the powerful rhythmic hooks of the track "Drugs" immediately struck me. The following track "Neckbrace" is a similarly driving pastiche of strings and indescribable melodic electro-vocals. These upbeat songs are counterbalanced by darker, more atmospheric pieces like "Bare Feast," which pushes harpsichord right up against Panjabi drums. Without delving too deeply into any sort of "authentic" styles, these tracks are still permeated with thematic qualities, creating the illusion of very clever and very original video game music.
THE LOWDOWN: Describing "LP4" in such a way is not meant as a negative criticism. Instead, consider what might happen if Brian May made a video game score with Daft Punk that was produced by Trevor Horn. Add a little multiethnic appropriation and you'd have something not unlike "LP4."
Unlike their elders, however, Ratatat enjoys a technological environment in which electronica has the increasing potential to sound less electronic. This grants a relatively small and underground group like Ratatat the capacity to create music of vast sonic complexity. What took Jarre a roomful of synthesizers and technicians in the 80s now can be done on a club stage with a more efficient and autonomous laptop. This organic side of Ratatat also emerges no small part due to guitarist Mike Stroud. His insistently melodic and sometimes epic style is playfully reminiscent of Queen's Brian May. His use of processing creates walls of guitar that certainly recall May's studio approach.
Upon listening to "LP4," the powerful rhythmic hooks of the track "Drugs" immediately struck me. The following track "Neckbrace" is a similarly driving pastiche of strings and indescribable melodic electro-vocals. These upbeat songs are counterbalanced by darker, more atmospheric pieces like "Bare Feast," which pushes harpsichord right up against Panjabi drums. Without delving too deeply into any sort of "authentic" styles, these tracks are still permeated with thematic qualities, creating the illusion of very clever and very original video game music.
THE LOWDOWN: Describing "LP4" in such a way is not meant as a negative criticism. Instead, consider what might happen if Brian May made a video game score with Daft Punk that was produced by Trevor Horn. Add a little multiethnic appropriation and you'd have something not unlike "LP4."
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