LP3

LP3 will keep a handful of indie-rockers happy but may not satisfy listeners looking for Daft Punk danceability.

There's nothing intrinsically flawed about what's otherwise a solid instrumental record, but so much of it feels so close to many of the things happening on the radio and the pop charts right now that, 90 seconds into a song, the mind might start wandering and wondering what this kind of stuff would sound like with Wale or Rihanna on top of it.

It is the most realized of their albums to date, and it showcases the group fully exploring the possibilities of the niche that they created for themselves two records ago.

LP3 is as wildly organic as instrumental electronica gets without becoming another genre (or five) altogether.

The result is some kind of cosmic machine music, reflecting not just a stoner’s world of internalized minimalist headbanging but an entire universe of culture, texture, and possibility.

Unlike its second effort, LP3 offers a sense of adventure through some potent modes of de-familiarization. [Summer 2008, p.92]

At this point in their career, Mast and Stroud's brand of whip-smart laptop rock secures them a spot on any dance party playlist. Alas, some songs here sound more fit for a party's background music than music for people to actually dance to.

Lovely promiscuous electronica.

Adventurous beat-mining producers like the aforementioned West could very well be using bits of several of these tracks for a Common beat before the year is finished. But even if that doesn't happen, keep this collection close: Someone's definitely going to try to steal your copy.

LP3 is a stronger outing, though it's not necessarily harder or faster.

Like much instrumental rock, Ratatat’s tunes can still sound like a soundtrack in search of a credit sequence. Yet all the new transformations enrich Ratatat’s music both sonically and psychologically, stoking new drama and hinting at hidden reservoirs of melancholy.

Instead of changing their sound to accommodate a wider palette of sounds, they wisely chose to incorporate them into their aesthetic. It's an inspired move that will help them keep their old fans and still allow the duo to progress musically.

As presented on LP3, it appears Ratatat's music works best as a fleeting burst rather than a long player.