Chicago's Ratboys have officially been a band since 2010, but they didn't pop up on most people's radars until 2023 when their record "The Window" became a hit. That record, produced by former Death Cab For Cutie member Chris Walla, found the indie rock quartet mixing early 90s alternative-inspired guitar hooks with country-folk and pop melodies.
'The Window' was one of the most critically acclaimed rock records of 2023, but lead singer and guitarist Julia Steiner says that fact didn't add too much pressure to writing its follow up.
"If anything, we felt really excited and energized to make this new record," she said. "Making 'The Window' was a really affirming experience. It was the first time we got to tour an album, and we were selling tickets all over the place. There wasn't any drama, so we knew we could do it all over again."
In February, Ratboys released "Singin' To An Empty Chair," and like its predecessor, it was immediately celebrated by critics and is gaining the band new fans all over the world. "A big, overarching theme of this record is my attempt to document my experience being estranged from a close loved one," Steiner said. "The goal is to update this person on what's been going on in my life and to try to bridge that impasse and reach out a hand into the void."
Ratboys are on a sold-out tour now, and will be at Motorco in Durham on March 8.
Speaking to WUNC about the title of the record, Steiner says that it was inspired by a therapy exercise she tried while the band was struggling to complete the song 'Just Want You To Know The Truth.'
"It was like a puzzle I couldn't complete," she said. "We had the arrangement figured out, we had the structure, I knew what I wanted the song to be about, but we just couldn't finish it. My therapist suggested this exercise which basically involves sitting across from an empty chair and speaking to it as if someone who isn't actually there was present and you're having a difficult conversation. That really helped me."
Therapy is something relatively new to Steiner. It's something that she says has helped her become a more insightful and introspective writer.
"For me, therapy is about feeling more in tune not just with my inner self, but with the language I'm using when I describe how I'm thinking and feeling," she said. "It contributes to that general level of self-understanding that songwriters tend to lean on when they're writing."
"Singin' To An Empty Chair" was introduced with the lead single "Light Night Mountains All That." It's a song that Steiner says was more of a group effort than a lot of the music they'd written in the past.
"I brought the tiniest little voice memo into the studio and had no idea what it was going to become," she said. "We were really proud of the way that song turned out. It's a good representation of us putting our heads together in a new way."
Just like on their last record, "Singin' To An Empty Chair" finds Ratboys working with producer Chris Walla. Steiner says that Walla's adventurous ear and eclectic taste in music has played a big part in helping the band level up.
"I know that his feedback comes from a genuine place of care and curiosity," she said. "We love him and we're grateful to have him as a collaborator."
Ratboys play Motorco in Durham on March 8. "Singin' To An Empty Chair" is out now on New West Records.
