When
Rat Fancy formed in 2016, the duo of singer/guitarist/lyricist Diana Barraza and multi-instrumentalist Gregory Johnson crafted wistful and dreamy bedroom pop. Their debut EP, 2017's Suck a Lemon, consisted of six songs packed with lo-fi drums and tinny synth sounds. While the EP could be sleepy and melancholic, some of its more upbeat moments held glimpses of a dormant force in
Rat Fancy's songwriting. That force grows into its full power on their debut full-length
Stay Cool after they expanded into a quartet with the addition of bassist Dan Fernandez and drummer Matt Sturgis, and consistently played live gigs that have sharpened their group playing into a fuzzy, raucous indie pop. The ten songs on
Stay Cool harness their buzzsaw guitar tones and speedy tempos but maintain the introspective voice of Barraza's songwriting. The album opens with the anthemic title track, announcing their development into a heavier entity with enormous drums, guitar soloing, and even a few nicely placed pick slides. The energy keeps up on "Making Trouble" with walls of distorted guitars, amped-up handclaps, and floating vocal harmonies. Production from former
Mighty Lemon Drops guitarist David Newton upgrades the songs with more definition, but doesn't obscure
Rat Fancy's gifts for melody or Barraza's vulnerable lyricism. Songs like "Rip Future" express struggles with anxiety and a demanding society, while "Stuck with You" is lighter, lamenting a bad tattoo. The band's collision of distortion and jangle recalls the heartfelt noise of K Records' or Sarah Records' early-'90s bands
Tiger Trap or
Talulah Gosh. There are also elements of midwest emo bands like
Rainer Maria and
Braid in the lingering, reaching melodies of songs like "Beyond Belief." Hooky, urgent, and driven,
Stay Cool is a collection of gently jittery emotions, suggesting
Rat Fancy's evolution continues. ~ Fred Thomas