Ratboys - Singin' to an Empty Chair Album Review

Preface: This review was written by Lukas Filcek of the Music Team as part of his Music Review for that week. Singin' to an Empty Chair is currently playing on 89.1 WIDR FM, and you can listen through widrfm.org, The WIDR App, or anywhere 89.1 WIDR FM is available.

Chicago has long been a bastion of indie and alternative rock music in a region of the US that isn’t often thought of as an exporter of artistry and culture. It is in the southwestern elbow of Lake Michigan that well-regarded producer and writer Steve Albini set his base of operations, becoming a low-level deity in modern music. Beneath its lofty Industrial skylines is where bands like The Smashing Pumpkins, Wilco, Alkaline Trio, and Fall Out Boy became household names. This long standing tradition hasn’t slowed down either, as bands like the sugary Beach Bunny and cinematic Friko have made sure of that. Another such group is Ratboys, founded by college-aged lovers Julia and Dave who moved back to the windy city after completing their degrees at Notre Dame.

Eleven years after their first album AOID, they have a discography that spans across six studio LPs. The most recent of these is Singin’ to an Empty Chair, a record that shows a more country persuasion. These cues taken from a more rural sound make it a natural progression from their 2023 release, The Window, and set Ratboys apart from their peers. Julia’s voice in particular has a folksy charm to her pen game and delivery that makes her a good personality to lead you through this record. David also features prominently, getting many opportunities to show off some fun guitar noodlings and solid solos that create the feeling of a second lead character in response to the vocalist. Songs like Know You Then carry a poppy yet moody sound that evokes the aesthetics of Kim Deal. Burn It Down is a progressive track that makes the most of its seven minute runtime and features the whole band giving it their all. What’s Right takes cues from modern emo and is generally a good song for moping.

At times, the formula of this record can feel, well, formulaic. Most of the songs are built with simple structure: Verse, Chorus, Verse, Chorus, Guitar Solo, Chorus. Of the songs that employ this structure, the aforementioned Know You Then is probably the real standout. Still, I would be lying if I were to say that every song is distinct and original, and it’s regrettable that I need to admit this record does have what I would call filler. I can call out Strange Love in particular for failing to carry its weight.

But truth be told, there aren't really any large, gaping structural problems here. Despite not being too varied, the songs here that break from the mold or make the most of the stylistic choices are nice gems that make Lake Michigan’s indie rock tradition proud.