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The Window

by Ratboys

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  • Streaming + Download

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  • Cassette + Digital Album

    Pink cassette with an obi strip!

    Includes unlimited streaming of The Window via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.
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  • CD
    Compact Disc (CD) + Digital Album

    Includes unlimited streaming of The Window via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.

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  • Window Pink 2xLP
    Record/Vinyl + Digital Album

    1st press gatefold vinyl! Limited to 200 copies.

    Includes unlimited streaming of The Window via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.

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  • Black Earth, WI 2xLP
    Record/Vinyl + Digital Album

    1st press 180g black vinyl with a gatefold! Limited to 300 copies.

    Includes unlimited streaming of The Window via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.

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  • Splatter Reaction 2xLP
    Record/Vinyl + Digital Album

    1st press gatefold vinyl! Limited to 200 copies.

    Includes unlimited streaming of The Window via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.

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  • Morning Blue 2xLP
    Record/Vinyl + Digital Album

    1st press gatefold vinyl! Limited to 1,250 copies.

    Includes unlimited streaming of The Window via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.

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  • Pink + Blue 2xLP **PRE-ORDER
    Record/Vinyl + Digital Album

    2nd press gatefold vinyl! Limited to 1500.

    Includes unlimited streaming of The Window via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.

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1.
I get stoned Driving home Looking out the window I turn up My favorite song Wishing I could call you up But, I’m not gonna think about that now No, I don’t wanna talk about that I’m not gonna pick my brain apart I don’t wanna talk about that I’m not gonna do that to myself, no I get sad When I look back At all the time we thought we had I lay down And cry out loud Give it up, and let it out No, it’s nothing big, it’s nothing I can get up out of bed, I’ll try I don’t wanna talk about that I’m not gonna pick my brain apart I don’t wanna talk about that I just gotta keep it to myself No, I don’t wanna talk about that now I get up And write some stuff Feel you here no matter what
2.
Morning Zoo 03:10
I look myself in the eye I wake up every morning I kill my thoughts with a knife Then blow a kiss to the silence How long does it take To find the peace that I want? And how long must I wait To decide that it’s over? Well, I don’t know The morning zoo is alive But, I just keep getting smaller It’s my decision to lie To settle down by the fire How long does it take To find the peace that I want? And how long must I wait To decide that it’s over? Well, I don’t know Talk to myself all the time Waiting on the long train The Devil’s right behind Stuck in the passing lane How long does it take To find the peace that I want? And how long must I wait To decide that it’s over and done? And how long does it take To find the peace that I want? And how long must I wait To decide that it’s over? Well, I don’t know I got a piece of the pie I could say ‘when’ if I wanted
3.
Get it? I got it It’s not what I wanted He’s fucking dumb Did it, I done it I’m taking it from you Is something wrong? Oo, ah-wait I crossed that line Livin’, I wanted To go out and gun it I’m never done Had to go To the basement show To have some fun Oo, ah-wait I crossed that line Did you say somethin? — (bass fill) That’s number one Every time I look at you I Feel somethin’ come Oo, ah-wait I crossed that line
4.
Outside my window The birds dance alone I sit back and take it in Like some sort of medicine Slow, feeling the wind blow Again, through the walls I fix something I can’t see Oh, it could be anything So close to a close call Again, freakin’ out I pray to the sky above Give in or give it up It’s alive Oh it’s- oh it’s alive So I pass the time, look to the side I feel it all, frozen in my house All around, it’s in the stars It’s speeding toward the sign Oh God, it’s alive Oh it’s- oh it’s alive
5.
No Way 05:37
Can it be that this was really All there is? I was starin’ so long at the sun ‘Til I was blinded Losin’ track of the days Ain’t nothin’ new I read every conversation But, I don’t know what’s true Can you help me out? I’m tryin’, but sinkin’ in this pit of doubt I’m stuck With a belly for a heart At the bottom of a well There’s no way you’ll control me I’ll take a penny For your thoughts And I’ll throw it straight to hell There’s no way you’ll control me again I know It feels like a dream we keep havin’ Oh, how I wish it wasn’t so But, I know that There’s no need to explain it now Everybody lies So why does that always catch me by surprise? ‘Cause I’m stuck With a belly for a heart At the bottom of a well There’s no way you’ll control me I’ll take a penny For your thoughts And I’ll throw it straight to hell There’s no way you’ll control me again There’s no way you’ll control me again
6.
I walked across the green grass To where I knew you laid The way the sun was shining down I only saw your shape But, I need to tell you everything Before it’s too late That I don’t regret a single day And you’re so beautiful So take this part of me Last in the middle Making sure to breathe One more time The window I saw you through the window We locked eyes and the window Was open, felt the wind blow I saw you through it How could I have known that You wouldn’t come back home? I sit down at the table And I fiddle with the phone I wish you were right next to me Instead I’m alone But, I’ll always have the memories Of our life together So take this part of me Last in the middle Making sure to breathe One last time The window I saw you through the window We locked eyes and the window Was open, felt the wind blow I looked in, and I felt you with me Yeah, I felt you with me When you waved your hand I felt you with me Sue, you’ll always be my girl So take this part of me Carry it with you Wherever it leads Don’t be scared The window I see you through the window And when I sleep, the window You’re here with me, the window You’re in my dreams The window I see you through the window And when I sleep, the window You’re here with me, the window You’re in my dreams I feel you with me Yeah, I feel you with me When I close my eyes I feel you with me
7.
Empty 03:51
I have, I have I have, I have I have, I have I have, I have She was walking At night Everyone said Their goodbyes She had to cry, I have I have, I have You followed her home Before Said some bullshit “No one loves you anymore” So what? Shut the door, I have How empty Are you? Are you sorry? Tell the truth You know, I have I have, I have
8.
Break 04:38
Break another open door To figure out what’s really going on I heard you go A lonely figure, you were the only one Lock the key and throw it down Forget the crazy feeling, “I’ll just skip town” I was watching you there With your head in your pillow, you were running from When the dark falls away There’s nothing there Not a thing You’re okay Go back to sleep Lie, and bring me to my knees The shallow cut, again it bleeds So you bring it right back, bring it right back into the sun I remember a bright light, then it’s gone But, it’s on, right now Your favorite show Once again How it starts And how it ends You watch until You fall asleep It’s just a bad Dream
9.
How’d I ever know you Quite like I was told to? Make sure you love each other nice now Oh, I was hypnotized Caught up in the northern lights Driving around in circles Singin’ hey now What was that sound? Lighting a match Just to f-freak you out Oo, then on the other side I saw fifty yellow lines Pushing up against the window And with one almighty lightning strike The Great Lake rose up behind Said, “Baby, you best turn around” So I went back I went back to the shore To follow Her pathway Forevermore Crushin’ the blades, great freight train Make the wind go away And if that mockingbird don’t sing Watch her do the twist again And if she’s twisted up too tight Let the dawn cut through the night And if that day do slowly break Make your way down to the lake
10.
I could tell that we’d be friends From the first moment We walked around and started talkin’ All about our favorite bands Got a quarter dog and Snuck you in at 2 A.M. Now we’re drivin’ ‘round Michigan Hours flyin’ by with the Windows down just listening to Maps and Atlases We’re so lost, but it’s whatever And I’m working up the guts to say that I got my mind Running to you I know it’s hard to say why But I really want you to I got my mind Running to you I know it’s hard to say why But I want you No, I’ve never met anyone Quite like you before Yeah it’s right, I love this feeling ‘Cause burning all my blank CDs never meant so much to me I got my mind Running to you I know it’s hard to say why But I really want you to I got my mind Running to you I know it’s hard to say why But I want you I got my mind Running to you I know it’s hard to say why But I really want you to I got my mind Running to you I know it’s hard to say why But I want you I can’t pretend That I wanna just be friends So, take my hand Let’s hang out forever starting now, The Fall of 2010
11.
Bad Reaction 04:15
Lost in a vague way, I have So many bad influences I don’t wanna shed The most automatic lies Weigh me down sometimes What’s the one thing you love? What’s the one thing you love? What’s the one thing you love now? Got some bad habits fully formed Everyone laughed at me until they could not breathe again I was a magician writing on the wall Talkin’ big shit over you Said, what’s the one thing you love? What’s the one thing you love? What’s the one thing you love now? Drove to the graveyard where you were not Found a nice little hill with an empty plot I threw the wheels in reverse so fast Lost in the headache didn’t look back Screamin’, what’s the one thing you love? What’s the one thing you love? What’s the one thing you love now?

about

Ratboys have been recording and releasing music for over a decade, but their newest album, The Window (Topshelf Records, August 2023), marks a number of firsts for the band. For starters, it was the first time they’d ever traveled outside their home base of Chicago to record an album, journeying to Seattle to work with producer Chris Walla for three weeks. It was also the first time they’d ever written an album collaboratively from start to finish, having added full-time members Sean Neumann on bass and Marcus Nuccio on drums in recent years. The new approaches to writing and recording are immediately apparent on The Window, which showcases the fullest, most expansive version of Ratboys’ sound.

“It was the first time we were fully able to collaborate on a record, from beginning to end,” says frontwoman Julia Steiner. “In the past, I’d write songs alone and bring them to Dave [Sagan, guitarist]. Then we’d ask friends if they’d be willing to come to the studio to help us record. But slowly that began to change. On The Window, I wrote the seeds of the songs on my own and brought them to Dave, Sean, and Marcus all at once for the first time. We worked on the arrangements together over the course of a year and half.”

By the time the band showed up to the Hall of Justice Recording Studio, in February 2022, The Window’s songs were well rehearsed and airtight. “In 2020, we weren’t playing shows, so our schedule was wide open,” Steiner says. “We spent that year demoing the songs, and spent 2021 practicing them. We practiced twice a week for six months, exploring the songs and developing them. We’d send early versions to Chris and he’d give us notes. It went like that for weeks. It was such a dedicated and intentional process.”

But while The Window was nearly fully formed going into the studio, the band also left some space for experimentation with Walla, whose production techniques they adored on releases from Foxing, Tegan and Sara, and his own Death Cab for Cutie. The sessions struck the perfect balance between preparation and experimentation, injecting new life into the band’s style of soft-hearted Midwestern indie rock with an ever so subtle Americana twist. Walla’s studio sensibilities pushed Ratboys to stretch and expand their vision, adding unexpected elements and instruments like rototoms, talkboxes, and fiddles. The result is Ratboys’ most sonically diverse record, shifting wildly from track to track. It flexes everything from fuzzy power pop choruses on “Crossed That Line” to a warm country twang on “Morning Zoo” to mournful folk on the title track.

“The language Chris uses when speaking about music comes from a very emotionally centered place, and that’s something that resonated with us. He would say things like, ‘This cymbal hurts my feelings,’ or ‘This song is like a cat,’” says Nuccio. “It was such a disarming thing,” adds Neumann. “We didn’t get bogged down in technical terms, and he never placed pressure on us in that way. With Chris steering the ship, we were free to go off on little creative expeditions and come up with parts and ideas we’d never imagined.”

Hunting for sonic inspiration, Walla and the band sometimes spent hours just listening to their favorite albums, spinning everything from Sloan to Brainiac to The Roches. “We listened to so much music while making the record,” says Sagan. “It helped us gain new perspectives and feel more connected to the songs we were making together.”

Lyrically, The Window sees Steiner at her most personal, reflecting on love and grief with occasional humor and levity. She frequently leans on windows as a theme—the idea of an interrupted connection, the feeling of being near someone without being fully present. Sometimes the looking-glass imagery is metaphorical, like on the nearly nine-minute epic, “Black Earth, WI,” or on the pounding lead single, “It’s Alive!” Other times, the windows are literal, like on the album’s titular centerpiece. “I wrote that song a few days after the death of my grandma in June of 2020,” Steiner explains. “She didn’t have Covid, but because of the pandemic my grandpa wasn’t able to visit her in person at the nursing home to say goodbye. He ended up standing outside her room and saying goodbye through an open window. A lot of the lyrics are direct quotes of things he said to her in those moments.”

After more than ten years and four studio albums together, The Window finally captures Ratboys as they were always meant to be heard—expansive while still intimate, audacious while still tender. But most importantly, The Window is the sound of friends operating as a single, cohesive unit. “My dream ever since I started writing songs was to be in a band—a proper band with a consistent lineup,” Steiner says. “To finally have the chance to play with dear friends who are fully committed, it was all I could ever ask for.”

credits

released August 25, 2023

Written by Ratboys
Produced by Chris Walla
Mixed by Chris Walla & Mike Vernon Davis
Recorded at Hall of Justice in Seattle, WA
Mastered by Heba Kadry in NYC
Art by Jennifer Cronin

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