Ratboy Jr. – Smorgasbord CD Review

Posted by Jeff on April 8, 2010 at 1:24 pm

RATBOY JR. “SMORGASBORD”

The Sound: An intoxicating mix of The Jayhawks, The Muppets and Ween. Rootsy-punk from a charismatic duo.

In the Cafeteria, They Sit With: Jack Johnson, Dog on Fleas, Earthworm Ensemble

Best Moments: “Dirt” captures the essence of being a kid, which as I put it in an OWTK fan page Facebook update recently, means having the seat of your pants or dress filthy, scrapes and scratches on your knees and (as added by an OWTK fan) dirt beneath your fingernails. Maybe the essence of being a kid in 2010 is hiding in a dark corner alone with your Nintendo DS or texting your friends mundane bullshit, so let’s say that “Dirt” is what a child’s life SHOULD be about; climbing trees, tossing branches into streams, digging for worms, collecting rocks and having blades of cold, green grass tickle their feet.

“Banana Stand” could easily have been an outtake from Jack Johnson’s “Curious George” soundtracks. The song floats around your head like a big soapy bubble in the summertime, constantly in danger of going pop yet somehow managing to ascend up, up and away. This musical fragility is kinda Ratboy Jr’s calling card. Listeners unaccustomed to such a style, be it low-fi, garage rock or super loose indie rock, may think the band is simply sloppy. Instead, think of it as relaxed-rock, casual & fun music with silliness abound. Ratboy Jr isn’t Andrew Bird or Sufjan Stevens, they’re far from polished or perfect. In this way, Ratboy Jr is more like real life – bumpy, and a lil’ rough around the edges but charming and funny at it’s core.

The line “you can swing on the vines / if you don’t have your own / you can swing on mine”, in the chorus of “Living in Trees” encapsulates the Ratboy Jr. ethos of playfulness, making friends and having a damn good time in all that you do.

Bonus Thoughts: My biggest regret during the 2010 Meltdown Family book & music fest was that I didn’t catch Ratboy Jr’s mid-afternoon set. Well, that’s not entirely true. I heard the very last chord of the very last song played as I hustled down the hallway during Rani Arbo & Daisy Mayhem’s set scheduled at the same time. By the sound of the applause, Ratboy Jr did way more than just entertain the little ones. These days, despite what you may read in the major press outlets where a quality kindie CD is usually greeted with a glib “finally there’s a kid’s CD that won’t make me puke” remark, there’s a lot of kid’s music able to be enjoyed by both child and adult. Ratboy Jr is certainly in that discussion.

Bonus Bonus Thoughts: Enjoy “Banana Stand”, recorded live in NYC:

Okay, Time to Wrap it Up with a Nice Little Bow: If you’ve had experience listening to and enjoying bands like Pavement, old Bright Eyes and early Built to Spill, or any jangly sometimes off-kilter rock-n-roll (maybe even the perpetually high So-Cal band Sublime), then you’re probably going to love Ratboy Jr’s “Smorgasbord”. I don’t make a habit of quoting other reviews in my reviews, but Jeff Giles nailed the essential vibe of this disc in his mid-March review of “Smorgasbord” on Dadnabbit when he wrote “if you’re the type of parent who’d rather see your kid at Gymboree than splashing in the mud, or if you greet things like composting with an eyeroll, then you should probably stick with your Laurie Berkner CDs.”

Sometimes, you’ve gotta let others have the last word. Giles, as he often does, says it better than I ever could. Go buy “Smorgasbord” by Ratboy Jr. right now.

*Ratboy Jr.’s “Smorgasbord” was provided to OWTK for review. The opinions expressed above are unbiased and true – no arm twisting took place in the review process.