Ratboys

Chicago's Ratboys color their sauntering, reflective indie rock with distortion and hints of rustic alt-country. After emerging with their first EP, the homespun Ratboy, in 2015, they fleshed out their palette, adding pedal steel, strings, and more by the time they recorded their second full-length, 2017's GN. Released in 2023, their fourth album, the Chris Walla-produced The Window, found them expanding their indie toolbox further, with instruments such as rototoms and talk boxes in the mix. With singles including 2025's "Anywhere," they continued along a more assertive path on the next year's separation-themed Singin' to an Empty Chair, another collaboration with Walla.