★★★½
US duo Ratatat, best known for their instrumental fusions of hip hop, rock and electronica, have snapped shut their laptops and plugged in their axes for Magnifique, their latest album after five years in the wilderness.
Guitar takes centre stage (as well as the supporting roles, scenery and chorus) on nearly every track. ‘Abrasive’ sounds like the biggest single The Strokes never released, while ‘Pricks Of Brightness’ channels Weezer at their ‘Buddy Holly’ best.
But that’s not to say the pair have gone completely garage. Elsewhere, the guitar sounds are dramatic and sophisticated: multi-layered into wailing walls of sound, squeezed through antique amplifiers and tweaked and treated to breaking point. They channel the tones of Queen guitarist Brian May and Discovery-era Daft Punk throughout, with indie-flavoured tracks sitting alongside gritty club thumpers like ‘Nightclub Amnesia’ and ‘Cream On Chrome’. Meanwhile, ‘Drift’, ‘Supreme’ and ‘I Will Return’ (Ratatat’s first cover, a 1971 UK hit by Springwater) are blissfully laid-back, using Hawaiian-sounding lap steel guitars to send listeners into a dribbling semi-slumber.
As per the Ratatat manifesto, the album is lyric-free, but nevertheless full of memorable overblown baroque melodies. A mixed bag of indie, electro and chill-out where the guitar is king.
Ratatat’s Magnifique is available on XL through Remote Control.
