Ratatat MagnifiqueThe duo of Mike Stroud and Evan Mast have stayed remarkably true to the sound they developed on Ratatat's first album, 2004's self titled affair. Though there have been slight stylistic diversions on the albums that followed, especially on 2008's LP3, their core of neatly wound, double tracked guitar melodies, thrumming basslines, and tight beats has remained intact. Though it was released five years after its predecessor LP4, a gap that might lead

later moving into a markedly Go-Betweens-steeped phase on their more sophisticated 2011 album

Taking more control over the album

" and the trials-and-tribulations tale "Ain't It Hard

accessible even when the melodies and meters take unexpected left turns

For a band that's known worldwide as the premier purveyors of goth-rock gloom and doom (though hardly incapable of sparkling pop gems)

even moving

soft rock-inspired songs that serve as a nice soundtrack when one is coming down from those kinds of highs

Dilla-inspired beats

Yams is sampled

contemporary R&B

A Nirvana best-of that includes a previously unheard song

Released: 6/26/12