Album Review: Printer's Devil by Ratboys

It takes precisely 0 seconds for Ratboys to let everyone know that third album, 'Printer's Devil', is going to be a barnstorming treat. 'Alien With A Sleep Mask On' launches unstutteringly and quickly ticks all the hallmarks of a Ratboys song: bouncy riff, quirky lyrics, indelible hook, country undertones, energetic breakdown. It's a set of tricks they use variously throughout, creating songs like 'Look To' and 'Anj', which manage to be swashbuckling and irresistible while telling tales of uncertainty and self-doubt.

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On their earliest releases Ratboys tagged their sound "post-country," but you really had to squint to hear the country. The twang on their 2017 album GN was more implied than explicit, and the music cozily straddled the line between woozy guitar pop and homespun folk. The whole album seemed to ….

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What started as a self-recorded acoustic endeavor, Ratboys founders Julia Steiner and David Sagan soon amplified their unhurried, reflective songs, adding full drums and distortion to the jangle, and channeling influences like the Breeders and the Dodos as much as Wilco and Jenny Lewis. Nearly a decade into their musical partnership, their third full-length, Printer's Devil, continues a gradual trend toward a broader, more robust sound. It was recorded at Decade Music Studios in Chicago with Erik Rasmussen, who co-produced with the band, and represents their first album with drummer Marcus Nuccio (Dowsing, Pet Symmetry).

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