Ratboys - Singin’ to an Empty Chair
Post-country – Released February 6, 2026 – 11 songs, 51 mins
REID
The album reviews continue to pile up for us at Too Sweet Reviews and our work presents notable trends. Some are common knowledge while others are specific to today’s industry. Then there are those that unveil themselves as we continue to expand our sonic palettes. This week’s review is the sixth studio album from the Chicago foursome known as Ratboys. This group is right up TSR’s alley with their indie style and it’s their third release since we began the blog in late 2020. Truthfully, I am surprised they haven’t caught the ear of one of us until now. Better late than never, as they say, as Singin’ to an Empty Chair is a hit.
Two weeks ago we reviewed a collective TSR favourite in Currents by Tame Impala, a record that erased the boundaries of rock, pop and electronic music. More recently we’ve been treated to the ascension of MJ Lenderman, Wednesday and Waxahatchee who have joined forces to accomplish the same thing, albeit with alternative country in place of electronic. The result of stepping outside the single genre expectation is the expansion of the creative process and more well-rounded professionals. For fans? It’s something new, which should always be welcome in the ultra-competitive industry. Now, will every fan love Karly Hartzman (lead singer of Wednesday) screaming one minute over raucous punk before stripping it down for sensual country? No, but most should appreciate the talent in being able to do both.
This brings us to Ratboys who have carved out their place beside this illustrious group. Six releases since 2015 is an impressive output and the group has worked hard to refine their sound. I’m largely unfamiliar with their discography but a quick scan through shows they’ve leaned indie and classic rock before flirting with alternative country on recent efforts and really ramping it up on Empty Chair. Their range is impressive. Anywhere is prototypical pop punk, reminiscent of early 2000’s Avril Lavigne. Light Night Mountains All That, What’s Right? and Burn It Down lean progressive rock, providing ample opportunity for Dave Sagan (lead guitar), Sean Neumann (bass) and Marcus Nuccio (drums) to showcase their talents. Penny In The Lake and At Peace in the Hundred Acre Wood are catchy alt-country highlights. The rest of the record is full of ear worm indie rock fueled by frontwoman, Julia Steiner, who fits every style with ease.
Speaking of Julia, she’s the brainchild of Ratboys. The album title and much of its content is from Steiner attempting to better herself through therapy. Love, loss and growth are primary themes and none more prevalent than Just Want You To Know The Truth. Written about a strained family relationship, it is referenced as the record’s centrepoint and one she struggled to write for years in a revealing interview with Tom Briehan from Stereogum. Her therapist’s recommendation of singing to an empty chair finally helped the words materialize. When commenting on her anxieties of performing such a personal song live, she said;
“This song, it'll be a new one in that way. I'm thinking very openly about my own life and experience, like you said, in a plainspoken way where it's literally a document of my memories in chronological order. So yeah, I'm excited to have the opportunity to share it.”
It runs eight and half minutes but try telling her that’s too long! In all seriousness, it joins four others that extend past the five-minute mark. It’s a mixed bag of effectiveness with some hitting the mark and others dragging on, disrupting the flow. My gut tells me it was a conscious effort to further their identity. Light Night Mountains All That continues for two and half minutes after the final lyrics. This type of jam is common in a live performance to give the band time to flex and perhaps they just wanted to sprinkle some of that into the recording. I respect it.
Even the most basic of songs are meaningful. This rings true for Know You Then and The World, So Madly. Both are easy listening and radio-friendly and certainly won’t wow you compositionally. The former is about meeting someone who has past emotional trauma and wishing you could’ve been there to help them when times were tough. The latter touches on the rat race that is life and watching it fly by, not taking the time to appreciate the happiness you share today. In ten years you’ll wish you could return to today’s age, health and circumstances. Don’t let it pass you by.
On an emotional album packed with personal reflection, Ratboys continue the trend of blurring the lines between genres. Indie pop, alternative country and classic rock fused together for an early album of the year contender.
Overall Rating: 8.4/10
Favourite Song: The World, So Madly
ROZ
This week the Too Sweet Crew buckaroo’s sink their teeth into the country-infused indie rock stylings of a band that simply go by the name ‘Ratboys’ – a name that I find particularly interesting considering the makeup of this group. Formed in 2010 at a university campus by frontwoman Julia Steiner and her current partner Dave Sagan (who stands beside her on lead guitar duties), these Ratboys (and girl) have wasted little time in making their mark on the scene. This week’s album is the bands sixth studio effort, which not only highlights a healthy release schedule but also finds itself springboarding off an acclaimed 2023 effort by the group, Windows. If there’s one thing I both love and hate as a music fan and as a reviewer, it’s chasing bands that have a romantic couple in the forefront. Potential future heartache be damned, this week we look at a couple of rats and their newest – Singin’ to an Empty Chair.
Before we dive too deeply into number six, it is worth noting that up until Windows, the band was technically a duo with band mates Sean Neumann (bass) and Marcus Nuccio (drums) working solely in a touring musician capacity. It was at that point where the official re-designation took place, effectively seeing the band evolve from a duo into a four-piece ensemble. Not listening to Ratboys’ discography personally other than this week’s album, the idea of a band reshaping to add new voices and new ideas in the studio always piques my interest. Studio input or not, each member is able to shine in their own way through instrument-laden arrangements featuring distinctive qualities ranging from the stomping beat through Open Up all the way down to the shredding solo’s of Burn It Down. Musically, the folk-country flair of the acoustic and steel guitars combined with the rock-flavoured tones of the electric all come together to produce a tracklist that ebbs and flows easily from the higher tempo tracks (Know You Then, Anywhere) to the more emotionally charged ones (Just Want You To Know the Truth, At Peace in the Hundred Acre Wood).
Chris Walla (former member of Death Cab for Cutie) produced this album and his grizzled vet status in the industry really shows, as the pacing on this record is phenomenal. The star of the show, front and center with the lone songwriters’ credit, stands Julia Steiner. Steiners performance across Singin’ to an Empty Chair reflects an individual with not only an innate ability to express her feelings genuinely but also displays the emotional maturity of an artist who is in her unique position, which is one that has been making, releasing, and touring music for the past fifteen-plus years straight. This overarching theme of maturity stems from the purpose of what this album is trying to achieve for Steiner, which is by and large a therapy session between the singer and her imaginary adversary sitting in that chair across from her. While the identity of the individual is kept under wraps (it could be about herself for all we know), it is apparent that the relationship has unravelled and is borderline irreconcilable. As far as talk sessions go, it can’t get more cathartic than filtering it through your art, especially when it’s done so seamlessly as it is here.
As with any modern album that dares to stretch itself close to the hour mark, there was certainly room to cut. I found there to be a small mid-album notch in quality through tracks Penny in the Lake and Strange Love, which felt just a bit too ‘honky tonk’ and blurred the genre lines a lot less effectively than their higher quality counterparts. Rest assured, their absence and the resulting tightening up could have rocketed this album further than where it ended up landing for me in the end. Otherwise, Julia Steiner is an absolute treat as the leading lady of the peculiarly named Ratboys. The bands fusion of indie and country textures leaves a warm, fuzzy feeling that pairs well with the heavy lyricism that accompanies it.
Overall Rating: 7.9/10
Favourite Song: Burn It Down
LUNDI
Over the course of TSR existence it’s been extremely enjoyable, and honestly occasionally infuriating, to watch musical genres fade in and fade out of popularity. Sometimes a moment is just that, a blip on the radar, but for Americana the decade has been nothing but kind to those artists who are infusing country and folk roots with some good ol’ fashioned electric guitars. Not only have I been won over, this styling produces some of my current favourite musicians, but with extreme popularity often comes over saturation. You never want to be late to the party. While we aren’t there yet, the cracks may be forming, but still the cream will always rise to the top and this week’s artist Ratboys have the skill to withstand those ebbs and flows. Singing to an Empty Chair may not be without fault, but it’s consistently solid with many hints of greatness.
Ratboys are a new band for me but Empty Chair lands as their 6th album in just over ten years. On one hand I’m certainly paying attention more these days, but on the other there has been plenty of buzz about this album across many channels. And for good reason. Chair is an eclectic collection of polished Americana sub genres, mostly executed to supreme fashion and given their own band signature spin. With a generous serving of dual guitars the bands best work “what’s right” and “burn it down” land as southern rock stylings akin to The War On Drugs meets Queens of the Stone Age. They also slack the distortion back and deliver folkier arrangements with bluesy riffs. Overall it feels very influenced but nuanced and tedious which lands an impact of a bands own artistic vision. It’s memorable for its attention to detail and firmness in executing the plan to a tee.
What keeps Ratboys firmly separated from the pack and the many iterations of rock country that’s come before them though is the southern drawl and cheeky lyrical insight of Julia Steiner. She’s very commanding as a vocalist, but by playing double duty on the guitar she never lets herself overwhelm the final product. Kudos for this as well to Chris Walla, formerly of DCFC, and his attention to detail across the album. The band seem acutely aware they aren’t reinventing a wheel, and spend the necessary time to polish and shine the output.
Now, you try not to be too critical over a couple of dud tracks amongst eleven but when you come in north of 50 minutes and have two too many wedding first dance songs it’s hard to let slide. A clear addition by subtraction of what could have been. Appreciate the desire to explore all the ranges of Americana in jest, but they leaned just a bit too stadium country in places. The album also would have done well to finish on Burn it Down and by leaving The Chicks impressions at home.
Singing to an Empty Chair sticks in the Spotify library and will get loads of air time after a couple of tracks are given the hidden treatment. The talent is there, the genre is in demand, and with just a few tweaks Ratboys can solidify their status as that hidden gem you tell all your friends about.
Overall Rating: 7.8/10
Favourite Song: What’s Right?