'Seventeen Years' is an instrumental classic; that one song makes the album worth having.
CD Reviews
My H3 isn't complete without it
Raoul Duke | Rocky Mountains, USA | 03/01/2006
(5 out of 5 stars)
"I too first heard this band on a web H3 Hummer commercial, and knew right away that I needed at least 3 copies to play in each of my H3's that I own. So I sent my butler out to buy a copy for me, because honestly who wants to mingle with the common folk? Needless to say all my friends at the country club were jealous because I had the H3 soundtrack that they all desperately needed to complete their lives. Unfortunately that was a month ago, and I've since then had to pawn all my cd's in order to pay for gas."
Original Instrumental
Goshou | Michigan | 09/13/2005
(5 out of 5 stars)
"Ratatat sets forth to create something incredibly hard to create: a comprehensive album without a single true lyric. Sure, they have a guy talk at the beginning of a few songs, but he's never incorporated into any of the songs. This means several things: first the songs need to be more interesting musically than normal, because we don't have a story to pull us along; secondly, we can't get distracted by bad lyrics, only bad melodies - something I am happy to report do not exist on this lp. Ratatat pulls this off beautifully, bringing out the positive qualities of instrumentals and shirking the negative ones.
So the human instrument of voice may not be heard on it; but the subtle chord and melody changes from the guitar and keyboards put the idea of cluttering up these songs with words to shame.
The album starts of with a very heavy backbeat under the dancable song "Seventeen Years;" then, gradually, as the song goes on, it mellows out and ends at another place entirely from where it started. They never go back. That's not to say there aren't any up-beat, big back-beat songs, but not to the extent they start out with. I think it's a great kick-off to the album. Their mellow, Gibbard-esque songs lend themselves to repeated listens, and Cherry is reportedly one of the best make-out songs of the college generation. There's a lot to the disc, so it rewards repeated listens. An album worth owning, and an album worth living with."
Songwriting at its Finest!!
J. Benedict | Eau Claire, WI | 07/31/2005
(5 out of 5 stars)
"Before I go on to rant about how much I love this album, I want to give a warning to all those who love the radio music and MTV garbage: You won't like this. Ratatat will most likely appeal only to those who are fans of post-rock, downtempo, and other ambient music forms.
For those that are still reading, I can't recommend this album enough. Ratatat is made of two incredibly talented musicians; Mike Stroud and Evan Mast (the former of the downtempo group "E*Vax"). Anyone familiar with E*Vax may have thought their album lacking in melodic content. Ratatat takes Mast's prowess in beats, keyboards and programming and adds the melodic genius of Stroud's guitar playing.
The music has been compared to many different groups, so allow me to offer one more comparison. Think of The Album Leaf with flashier beats, less "real" (or unfiltered) instruments, and electric guitar instead of acoustic. The beats and basslines are almost always programmed and tend to use a bit of a videogame sound. On top of this is an electric guitar run through so many filters you can't always recognize it; and it is playing some of the most beautiful melodies I've heard in a while.
The coup de grace with Ratatat is their song writing ability. This duo does not fall into the ambience trend of redundant soundscapes or just adding in new loops every 8 bars. The melodies have verses, bridges and refrains and will throw you off with tempo changes, dynamics, and one of the most anticipation-inducing build ups in music history.
The first song is a little decieving though. It starts with incredible energy and a dance floor feel until about 2 and a half minutes in. It then subdues itself into a feel more fit for the remainder of the album. The album ends on the most beautiful downtempo song I've found to date. Yes it's redundant in the beginning but the build up is amazing and the anticipation before the climax is staggering. The peak of the song sounds like the musical incarnation of a state of Nirvana.
Anyways, at first you may just use this CD as background music due to its low-key and sublime nature, but give it a chance with some headphones on and I'm sure that you'll recognize the technical genius and wonderful songwriting that's going on here."
I will take you up on that....
Cara J. Koehler | Chicago, IL | 07/01/2005
(5 out of 5 stars)
"To the review below mine (its author)- I will take you up on that offer. I have heard a few Ratatat songs and I think it's phenomenal, so by all means, send away if you don't like it."
Will these guys last another album?
Spencer Owen | Los Angeles, CA United States | 07/22/2004
(4 out of 5 stars)
"I hope they do, with one condition: switch it up a bit. What we have here is a basic formula for rock-pop-hop. Guitars (backwards and forwards) dance out some chord progressions, get smacked by ghetto beats, ask for some next-round advice from synths in the corner of the ring. For most of the tracks, having no vocals works nicely, but the fact is that just a couple songs cry out for something extra. The closer "Cherry" would work in its current form only in the most background of backgrounds; with a new melody on top, and especially with a new sound in the palette, that C-major sweetness could really work wonders. If, on their next album, Ratatat decide to pull a Dntel, I don't think it could hurt (depending on their collaborators, of course) and might even bring them a higher success rate.
All this being said, when this record is on the mark, it's fairly sublime. "17 Years," "Crips," "Bustelo" and "Spanish Armada" are prime examples; had the entire record been filled with such successful tunes, I wouldn't be making suggestions. Overall, they have proven that they can make instrumental pop that handles on its own; the hooks on the hits are murderous. With some more sounds in the arsenal, they could really become an album duo."
Track Listings (11) - Disc #1
Curtis K. from CODY, WY 
