Tuesday, 1 April 2014

Rat & Co 'Vocal Insanity'


When live and electronic sensibility collide, a magical sound can emerge. ‘Vocal Insanity’, while giving off the impression of a crazed tense track, actually refers to something quite serene and enchanting.

We’ve been following Rat & Co for a while now and while it did start out as a one-man bedroom producer project (Joshua Delaney), it has now expanded into a full four-piece band.

‘Vocal Insanity’ starts off quiet and eerie, with distorted vocals from Delaney and spacey synths. Then syncopated percussion comes in among the moody sounds. It offers a timelessness not unlike a Four Tet or Boards of Canada track.

Rat & Co keep it downtempo throughout and with very sparse lyrics, so that the whole thing evolves into a trance – especially with that vocal loop on top of jangling percussion and a thick electronic section. They do also offer time to breathe, with a break of a simple guitar melody, before it is then added to the ever-growing layers.

While the track is not anchored in clear lyrics or structure, it is no background listening music. And it will be interesting to see how the track translates into a life show.

‘Vocal Insanity’ is the first track off Rat & Co‘s upcoming second album Binary, due for release in May. Their album launch will be at the Shebeen Ballroom in Melbourne on April 10.

Published on Purple Sneakers

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