Elle Mannion
Credit: Photo: Michael Zamora/NPR
Not many bands can pull off an eight-minute rocker at the Tiny Desk. For more than 15 years, the members of Ratboys have honed their craft and earned the space to stretch out. "We've been watching these Tiny Desk concerts since back in the family desktop computer days," Julia Steiner says between songs.
With excellent guitar playing, Steiner's sweet voice, poignant lyrics and a sturdy, Midwestern sensibility, Ratboys has become an indie-rock mainstay. While this set draws on this year's Singin' to an Empty Chair and 2023's The Window , there's a deep catalog of exceptional albums to explore.
"This one's for the chillers," Steiner says before playing that miniature epic. The twangy "Black Earth, WI" begins with a midtempo groove, but builds to a headbanging riff that explodes. Across its hard-won career, this is the kind of emotional thrill you come to expect in every Ratboys song.
SET LIST
MUSICIANS
TINY DESK TEAM
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