Rats on Rafts announce their new album, ‘Deep Below’ set for release on 7th February on Fire Records. Out today, they release new single ‘Japanese Medicine’ with brand new music video and additional 2025 tour dates.
Out of the fog emerges a darker, slower, eroded Rats on Rafts. Highlighting different shades within the monochrome landscape compared to their previous, more colourful albums; new album ‘Deep Below’ sees them dive deeper into their psyche, questioning our relationships with nature, religion and each other. Echoes of The Cure, Cocteau Twins and Slowdive seem present yet so many different influences make up an album that only they could create. ‘Deep Below’ sees Rats on Rafts coming of age whilst raising their heads from the underground.
Lead single ‘Japanese Medicine’ is a haunting minor chord piece driven by debris of icy chiming guitars, galloping drums and waves of lush synths. lyrically it gathers memories of teenage friendship, littered with cigarettes, life-changing records, punctuated with the dark thoughts and the demons they summon up. David Fagan: “Japanese Medicine is aimed at a former version of myself, that person’s gone but occasionally I miss him because life seemed very promising and unpredictable.”
“The track’s droning synth and shimmering guitar betray that post-punk/new-wave influence, while the snare-heavy percussion and reverb-soaked vocals align the track with Austin’s current psych-rock scene as led by The Black Angels.” FLOOD Magazine
When Rats on Rafts approached the accomplished documentary maker David Kleijwegt for advice, he volunteered to make the music video “At the time I put myself forward as their next videoclip maker, I was still unaware that they had just made the best record of their career.” Kleijwegt asked his brother in arms, the overqualified cinematographer Reinier van Brummelen to work with him on the music video “The foundation for the Japanese Medicine video is taken from material I shot previously. The desolate character of the desert that we chose amplifies the sentiment of the song.”
Forever drifting into new territory, Rats on Rafts’ fourth album ‘Deep Below’ is certainly their darkest and most cohesive work to date. True to their analog recording process, the tape machines, reverbs, echoes and vital new ingredients: the Soundcraft 1s mixing desk (used by Lee Perry) and the eerie sounding Eminent String Ensemble synth all amplify the authentic sounds of the 1980’s without sounding like a relic. David Fagan: “We didn’t experience the 80’s but look back on the parts we like, and more recent music inspired by it. Our music could never have come out this way had we made it back then.”
You may conclude Rotterdam’s Rats on Rafts’ relationship with the past is complicated. ‘The Moon Is Big’ (2011), ‘Tape Hiss’ (2015) and ‘Excerpts From Chapter 3’ (2021) are truly gripping analog timestamps of a band refusing to give in to the supposed ‘progress of the world’, instead following their own path each time. ‘Deep Below’ is Rats on Rafts’ most minimalist work since their 2011 debut. Where the latter album was fuelled by a brash bravado, these recordings meditate on sentiments of doubt, loss, and ageing. Most of the new songs first appeared live in 2023 when supporting The Chills (NZ) on their final UK tour. After the tour was completed Rats on Rafts went straight into their underground studio to start recording their new songs. In 2025 they will resurface to embark on an extensive headline tour supporting the new album through the UK and Europe.
Deluxe Greyboard Spot UV sleeve + Grey Vinyl Edition, DL card
“A talismanic band intact.” The Quietus
TOUR DATES
12 Feb: Engine Room, North Shields, UK
13 Feb: Voodoo Rooms Speakeasy, Edinburgh, UK
14 Feb: Old Hairdressers, Glasgow, UK
16 Feb: Bello Bar, Dublin, Ireland
18 Feb: The Peer Hat, Manchester, UK
19 Feb: Voodoo Daddy’s, Norwich, UK
20 Feb: The Tin, Coventry, UK
21 Feb: Prince Albert, Brighton, UK
22 Feb: Two Palms, London, UK
23 Feb: Music Hall, Ramsgate, UK
07 Mar: Rotown, Rotterdam, Netherlands
14 Mar: Vera, Groningen, Netherlands
15 Mar: Merleyn, Nijmegen, Netherlands
27 Mar: Effenaar, Eindhoven, Netherlands
28 Mar: Ekko, Utrecht, Netherlands
29 Mar: Melkweg, Amsterdam, Netherlands
02 Apr: Sonic, Lyon, France
03 Apr: Swamp, Freiburg, Germany
04 Apr: Kohi, Karlsruhe, Germany
05 Apr: Manufaktur, Schorndorf, Germany
06 Apr: Gold, Neu-Ulm, Germany
22 Apr: Musikbunker, Aachen, Germany
23 Apr: Goldener Salon, Hamburg, Germany
25 Apr: Schokoladen, Berlin, Germany
26 Apr: UT Connewitz, Leipzig, Germany
