Ratatat

XL Recordings artists Ratatat are set to release their latest album "Classics".  Mike Stroud and Evan 'E*vax' Mast have finally completed work on their second album, humbly titled 'Classics'. They'd have finished a lot sooner had their self-titled debut, released in 2004, not done quite so well on their home turf. After changing their name from Cherry to Ratatat just in time for their tour with Interpol, the duo garnered a serious amount of praise for their first single release, 'Seventeen Years' on Audiodregs Records.

The album was released shortly afterwards, and in addition to a glorious press response ('a surprisingly buoyant thrash ... intensely pleasurable' Pitchfork), Mast and Stroud found favour with a number of bands. This ended up taking them on the road around North America and Europe playing shows with The Killers, Franz Ferdinand, The Stills and Mouse On Mars.

They eventually packed away the flight cases after well over a year's worth of touring, and set about making the follow-up. The record began life in Mast's new Crown Heights apartment, but really found its feet when they spent 6 weeks out of the city at a friend's house in upstate New York.

Of course, 'Classics' remains resolutely instrumental, but they have however introduced a wealth of new sounds, from acoustic and slide guitar through to sleigh bells and cello. Having laid out their blueprint with 'Ratatat', their vastly improved production and writing makes 'Classics' a refinement of their art. Throw in the remixes they've recently been commissioned to make, the impending second volume of their mix tape, and their first ever full headline tour of the US, and you have more than enough to be getting on with.