“Wildcat”
from the album Classics
2006
iTunes
Stream “Wildcat” at the band’s MySpace
Coincidentally, Ratatat was featured here last August 18, too.
Ratatat’s four-minute bursts of glitter and pyrotechnics can impel even the pithiest of writers to Spiro Agnew-caliber adjective abuse, and each adjective walks hand in hand with its foil. “Wildcat,“ a tensely chilled-out creeper, is no exception. It’s concise and expansive, hard rock and hip hop, pop and prog, mechanical and lush. Subtle yet overstated: In case the title doesn’t sufficiently establish the track’s domain, fierce panther snarls periodically slash through the sleek pounce.
Of course, all this dense neon foliage comprises a dual image, sprawling city and untamed wilds equally teeming with life. Dreamy electro shimmers blur through the percussion’s spitting rain; a flashy guitar lick stutters and weeps; rubber-band bass smartly stretches and retracts. Revving whooshes and echoing flutters puff up like turf under high-velocity turns. And that’s just the first half, before a banner-waving synth lead and ripped funk rhythm crank up, and the jungle bursts into flames.