Hailing from Los Angeles, CA – where despite all that sunshine you might choke on the smog and ambition all around you – RAT FANCY is ex Sweater Girl Diana Barraza (vocals/guitar), Gregory Johnson (guitar/keyboard) and Gavin Glidewell (drums). They’ve just released their new six-song EP ‘Suck A Lemon’ through HHBTM Records. It’s the sound of being fucked up on pollen and sugar, skidding through a dizzy blissful spring of laughter and loss.
The subject matter veers from the ultra-personal to the paranormal. The shimmering bittersweet pop of ‘I Can’t Dance To The Smiths Anymore’ isn’t about the Smiths, it’s about growing up. We have the video premiere for that track’s video, a humourous DIY Catfish parody, watch it above. Here’s the premise: “What happens when you fall in love with a stranger online and give them your Smiths records? Donna finds out when she enlists the help of Nev and Max from the RAT TV show Ratfish.”
The title track appears in two versions, a fast one and a slow one (just like Yo La Tengo used to do!) and they’re both capable of moving you to tears because, despite the sourness of the EP’s title, this music is almost impossibly sweet.
Indiepop is in tatters and the ashes are all around us, and yet, and yet, a record this vital and brave, a record this alive, gives us hope for the future.