With that all said, LP4 picks up right where Ratatat's previous album LP3 left off -- and damn is it good.
LP4 kicks off with the three-song arc "Bilal," "Drugs" and the super funky, head-scratchingly brilliant "Neckbrace." The songs all feel like pretty standard-fare Ratatat, yet "Neckbrace" branches off into places unknown with its eery, human beatbox/gutbucket line -- accompanying the already solid, tribal-eqsue drum beat. It is a song far too irresistibly sinister to listen just once, demanding multiple takes just to figure out what the hell is all going on -- and we've now come to expect such an effort from Ratatat.
LP3 catapulted the band into a different airspace from their previous efforts, 2004's Ratatat and 2006's Classics. Songs like "Falcon Jab," "Mirando" and "Shempi" proved that Ratatat had evolved their already revolutionary sound, and LP4 cements a legacy from a band that has never been one to disappoint. The duo's time with Chris "Kid" Mescudi on his debut album was well-spent, and while LP4 isn't overly hip hop influenced, it carries on the groundwork that LP3 laid two years prior. LP4 has its moments of influence from other genres like hip hop, but it is a beast of its own kind -- one that music has yet to (outside of Ratatat) come across.
LP4 is out June 8 via XL Recordings. Tracklist is as follows:
01. Bilar - 4:14
02. Drugs - 4:55
03. Neckbrace - 4:06
04. We Can't Be Stopped - 2:10
05. Bob Gandhi - 4:01
06. Mandy - 3:42
07. Mahalo - 2:00
08. Party With Children - 2:58
09. Sunblocks - 3:42
10. Bare Feast - 2:38
11. Grape Juice City - 3:56
12. Alps - 4:21
