Chicago Indie Rockers Ratboys Evolve From ‘Country Mouse’ to ‘City Rat’ on Latest Album

Chicago indie rockers Ratboys evolve from ‘country mouse’ to ‘city rat’ on latest album

Ratboys are closing “The Window” and pulling up a “Chair” on their latest album, signaling they have made themselves at home and are going to stay a while.The Chicago-based indie rock quartet’s sixth record, “Singin’ to an Empty Chair,” (released Feb. 6) comprises 11 tracks drenched in twangy folk, pop-rock and distortion, and all beating with Midwestern heart.It’s a similar vibe to 2023’s “The Window” that helped put the band on the map and led…

Singin’ to an Empty Chair, by Ratboys

As usual, lyricist and singer Julia Steiner sounds almost instinctively tuneful, as well as deceptively innocent in the manner of other female alt-rock singers like Dentist’s Emily Bornemann.

Ratboys: Singin’ to an Empty Chair

Bringing their country-tinted indie rock to boundless new landscapes, the Chicago band returns with their most emotionally affecting and compositionally advanced songs to date.

Ratboys Release Stellar New Album Singin' to an Empty Chair: Stream

Ratboys have released their new album, Singin' to an Empty Chair, making an argument to be the alt-country indie band's best album yet.

5 Albums Out Today to Listen To: Ratboys, Mandy, Indiana, Daphni, and More

In this segment, we showcase the most notable albums out each week. Here are the albums out on February 6, 2026: Ratboys, Singin’ to an Empty Chair Ratboys’ new album, Singin’ to an Empty Chair, is as expansive and nuanced as it is purely resonant. The follow-up to 2023’s The Window finds the beloved Chicago band reuniting with producer Chris Walla, who helps them ease into some of their most simultaneously catchy and complex songs yet. “A big, …

Ratboys' 'Singin' To An Empty Chair': The Story Behind Every Song

Every Ratboys album is good. The Chicago indie rockers have been in the game for six albums and 16 years, and they’ve only gotten better at their sound, which carries echoes of emo and pop-punk and alt-country and classic rock without fully steering into any of them. Their last, 2023’s The Window, was an outright…