Ratboys

Ratboys have been recording and releasing music for over a decade, but their newest album, TheWindow, marks the first time they’d ever traveled outside their home base of Chicago to make a record, journeying to the Hall of Justice Recording Studio in Seattle to work with producer ChrisWalla. The sessions with Walla (Death Cab for Cutie, Tegan and Sara, Foxing) 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. The solidified Ratboys lineup stretched and expanded their vision in the studio, adding unexpected element sand 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” and “It’s Alive!” to a warm country twang on “Morning Zoo” to mournful folk on the titular track. After more than ten years and four studio albums, The Window finally captures Ratboys as they were always meant to be heard—expansive while still intimate, audacious while still tender—the sound of four friends operating as a single, cohesive unit.

Another Michael

Launched as a solo project, Michael Doherty made early waves as Another Michael with two EP releases in 2016 and 2018 that synthesized elements of lo-fi bedroom pop, dense chamber folk, PC music and electronic R&B, among others. Finding ideal partners in bassist/producer Nick Sebastiano and guitarist/ keyboardist/vocalist Alenni Davis in 2017, the three found quick chemistry and relocated to Philadelphia together allowing them to explore the true depth of their sound and bond. Going on to release the masterfully understated, dream folk influenced, full-length debut ‘New Music and Big Pop’ in 2021, Another Michael’s thoughtful and poetic nature shows incredible insight and ability for a band that’s only scratched the surface of their story.