Rat Boy Hear Suburbia Calling

RAT BOY’s ever-adventurous voyages across genres have taken the band, fronted by Jordan Cardy, on similarly sprawling journeys across the globe. But wherever they go, they inevitably find themselves boomeranging back to their Essex homelands. And that’s the topic that RAT BOY explore as they share their new single SUBURBIA CALLING, their first new music in over two years.

Rat Boy

Rat Boy (Gavin Watson)

Bringing together spiky indie-pop thrills with Cardy’s drawling semi-rapped vocals, SUBURBIA CALLING could be a big beat Blur, or The Streets had they emerged mid-Britpop. As we’ve come to expect, RAT BOY’s musical anarchy is the backdrop to Cardy’s distinctly British lyricism, his postcard pictures of small town culture providing equal measures of insight and humour. SUBURBIA CALLING is RAT BOY’s response if Essex ever needed its own national anthem. Priced out of London, you’re back in a world of commuters, curtain-twitching neighbours and Union Jacks – and you know what? It’s good to be back home. While it’s specifically about Essex, SUBURBIA CALLING will be relatable to anyone in the satellite towns or outer travel zones near any big city.

Of the new tune, frontmen Jordan Cardy says: “This is a love letter to the suburbs. It made us and shaped us. It’s good to be back.” SUBURBIA CALLING was produced by the renowned Stephen Street (Blur, The Smiths, Kaiser Chiefs) and written by Cardy alongside the track’s co-producer Sam Preston (jxdn, MOD SUN).

Listed to SUBURBIA CALLING below:

When RAT BOY first emerged with his debut collection THE MIXTAPE (which recently debuted on Spotify) he immediately earned a one to watch reputation, his genre agnostic style and biting lyricism encapsulating his generation’s experiences. But RAT BOY was only going to play by his own rules. Initially a solo project, RAT BOY evolved into a full band identity with the addition of guitarist Harry Todd, bassist Liam Haygarth and drummer Noah Booth, with the more visceral spirit and darker themes of their debut album SCUM nonetheless firing them into the UK Top 15.

RAT BOY’S next stop was a leftfield turn into the American punk scene, working with its pivotal figures such as Tim Armstrong (Rancid, Operation Ivy) and Brett Gurewitz (Bad Religion, Epitaph Records) as well as touring with The Interrupters and earning the admiration of Linkin Park’s Mike Shinoda. It was an experience that resulted in the album-length mixtape INTERNATIONALLY UNKNOWN and the follow-up GOVERNMENT VACATION EP. Since then, RAT BOY have focused on their other related projects – LOWLIFE’s PAY DAY album and a mixtape from MILA – alongside brand new music, with only sporadic live shows in 2023 with a gig as special guests to YUNGBLUD and a hometown warm-up in Chelmsford.

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