We're so close. In just a few weeks, Chicago indie rockers Ratboys will follow up 2023's The Window, which rules, with the new LP Singin’ To An Empty Chair, which might rule even harder. I have heard the full record, and you should be jealous of me. It's probably the best 2026 record that I have heard thus far. Can you believe it? A music critic getting all hyperbolic about an album that's not out yet? I know. Whoever heard of such a thing? Well, I am hyping this one up. This one is a good one.
None of this should be remotely surprising. Ratboys are a great band, and they've been playing the new songs live for more than a year. Early singles "Light Night Mountains All That," "Anywhere," and "What's Right?" all kick ass. Today, they share another great one: "The World, So Madly," a spirited choogle about the impermanence of everything around you. Here's what bandleader Julia Steiner says about it:
Looking back at my voice memos, I recorded the original idea for this song on January 1st, 2023, and it feels like a song of new beginnings: we recorded it almost entirely in the morning throughout the sessions, and the lyrics focus on making peace with big life changes, and really with the ever-changing nature of life in general. I was thinking a lot about certain events unfolding in the news at the time, but I wanted to keep the lyrics open, so that anyone can listen and find their life in the song.
Dig in below.
Singin’ To An Empty Chair is out 2/6 on New West.
