KEY POINTS:
Herald rating: * * *
It's a shame one of the year's best songs is on an album that's not an absolute cracker. Classics, the second album from New York instrumental duo, Ratatat, is good, but the feisty and fun song Wildcat is something else. It starts with a distorted pitter patter and high-pitched guitar chink, then in comes a drawn-out, juicy "Rooaarr" that recurs throughout the song. It's genius, and a track, like much of Ratatat's music, that's made for dancing. Imagine a packed dancefloor with a jaguar slinking among all the hot bods - that's the feeling it gives you.
Other highlights include the wonky harpsichord manipulations of Lex and the Latin swoon of Swisha. But elsewhere there's folky fillers like Tropicana and the aimless last track Tacobel Canon.
Ratatat have been mixing in the right circles since their 2004 debut, having toured with Franz Ferdinand, Interpol and the Killers, and they also hung out at Bjork's house for a week during the making of Classics. Not bad for a couple of guys playing mind-bending instrumental music. But whether this album will hold your attention is uncertain. The place to see Ratatat will be live when they play the Kings Arms in Auckland on November 20.
Get your favourite cat suit on, get your claws out, and sink them into something.
Label: XL Recordings
Verdict: Instrumental duo get their claws out but fail to hold on for the joyride
