Press info: While the first releases focused on mechanical grooves, their debut
album, Boxing Days, has become a distinct guitar album. The nonconformist approach
to songwriting, however, remained: in eight tracks clocking in at just over half an hour,
it ranges from raw, back-to-the-roots punk to the closest they’ve ever come to a ballad.
There are echoes of Wire and Gang Of Four, alongside contemporary references like IDLES, Shame, and Viagra Boys, but The Rats never resort to imitation. What prevails is a radically unique identity: that of a band that never chooses the easy way out and doesn’t follow trends.”
The cover artwork features Albert Laperre, the great-grandfather of the album’s
graphic designer Stan Tijtgat, an amateur boxer who went down often but always
came back fighting.
Emile Dekeyser (frontman) adds: “It’s a fitting image for an album that, despite its title,
isn’t about fighting or winning. Boxing Days is about survival, about learning how to remain standing, even when you can’t quite keep up with the punches.”
TUTV: The rat race is on, folks. Time to get up, stand up, and fight for your right to start
a moshpit whenever and wherever you are, the moment Boxing Days torpedoes your ears. This debut is, without a shadow of a doubt, a longplayer that will last for a long time. For its sharp-teethed punkiness (British Racing Green / Won’t Stand For It / Muck And Bullets and the flabbergasting The Wrong Day), for its bloodcurdling execution, and for its overall KO horsepower in 8 rounds.
But it’s not only about the stupefying noizzz
and the turbulent spit-and-sneer excorcism.
The Rats, led by vim and vigour by motormouth Emile Dekeyser, offer barbed-wire songs with body and balls, with heart and soul, with vivacity and a jagged joie de vivre. Every uppercut stands loud and proud on its own feet.
A striking example is Boxing Day. A burning torch that moves like a snake chases
her helpless prey, slowly and viciously, until the fatal attack. Goosebumps.
Another standout, according to my enthusiastic ears, is the bone-chilling closer, called Stomper. A sort of aftermath meditation on what the fuck happened here, what
did we do, where will we go. Its ominous pace and out-of-your-Emile-mind finale is no
less than startling.
The Rats are a well-oiled rock machine wasting no time on arty-farty superfluity
and/or bombastic overproduction. 32 minutes of brutal honesty is what we get.
Great debut albums are the ones everybody remembers long after their release,
no matter how many followed, because of their uncalculated directness, their
primal, innocent discharge, and their everlasting tunes. Boxing Days undeniably
belongs to this coveted category
The Rats‘ message is crystal clear.
They’re here to stay. Join them.
Belgian hit-and-run punks THE RATS came our way faster than a comet
out of control this past year. On record with their far-out 4-track debut EP Disco To Disco. On stage with their unbridled gusto and sassy swagger.
Pumped-up frontman Emile is the maddening man in shorts in the middle,
backed by a bulldozing rats artillery. They produce fireworks, throw left/right
punches, and headbutt you on repeat.
If you never heard of them, it’s about time you do so. Dr Jekyll and Mr Emile Hyde will guide you with this
end-of-the-year chat.
Hello Emile,
welcome.
When and how did the band came alive?
“The earliest Rats demos date from the summer of 2019, after deciding to go on a hiatus with London Bullet, our old band with which we mainly operated in the underground punk scene. We had done London Bullet for nearly 10 years and decided it was time for tabula rasa.
However, after those first rehearsals, the whole covid thing happened and we only started rehearsing again late 2021. We then started playing our first gigs throughout 2022 and immediately got some attention, mainly from Democrazy, the largest concert organisation in Ghent, Belgium. Thanks to them, we could support the UK art-punk band The Lounge Society in the Charlatan club.
That was only our fourth ever gig and it was already ‘bigger’ (or more ‘mainstream’)
than anything we had done with London Bullet. From there on, it all went pretty fast.
When recording those first demos in 2019, I don’t think we’d ever expected to end up
at Belgian venues such as De Vooruit, Het Depot and Trix, and festivals like Left of The Dial, Crammerock, and Boomtown. It’s been quite the journey!”
Why the name THE RATS?
“We’ve always been big fans of the UK hardcore band Gallows. They occasionally played surprise shows in small venues under the name The Rats. When London Bullet ended, we kinda wanted to keep it a secret that we were working on something new, so for that reason we jokingly used The Rats as our temporary band name.
When we were selected for Humo’s Rock Rally 2022 and our performance was well received, we figured it would be foolish to not ‘capitalise’ on that, so we stuck with
the name.
We do realise there are hundreds of bands that are called The Rats. But we don’t
really care about that! Let’s just say we want to be the best band called The Rats
ever.”
Last September you released your debut EP ‘DISCO TO DISCO’.
What’s the story behind the title, Emile?
“Well, it’s ‘disco’ in the sense of a ‘club’ – most of the songs are about going out in the city and all kinds of experiences I’ve encountered or lessons I’ve learned about myself and others while doing that. About friendship groups changing while you grow up, about relationships not working out, about getting spiked (fucking cunts!).
And then there’s obviously the reference to the disco genre. The title was decided very early on in the process, even before most of the songs had been written. The initial idea for the band was to be a bit more ‘electronic’ due to the addition of a synthesizer, so we thought the title would indicate that new direction.”
What did you want to express with the EP’s artwork?
“I love when you come across a record in a shop (or see a thumbnail from a review online) and can instantly tell that the music is going to be right up your street. I’ve always thought of it as a gut feeling, so I had never really given much thought to the exact elements that make a good cover. In an attempt to pinpoint that,
I made a list of record covers I really like to see if there’s any connection.
I learned a thing or two about making that list, and talked it through with
my bandmates.
We then presented the ideas, as well as the songs, to our good friend Charlotte Hennion, who is a graphic designer, and she made the cover. We were immediately convinced, we’re really happy with how it turned out! Now hopefully people will come across the record cover and experience that same gut instinct that the music inside is something they’ll love.”
Which is your favorite track?
“My personal favorite on the
EP is ‘Last Chance Saloon’.
.
The mixing, done by our guitarist Sander, is on point for this one. I’m very pleased
with my vocal delivery, as well as with my lyrics. The repetitive hook makes the whole
track both catchy and addictive. The other guitar parts are super interesting.
And I love how after the first chorus, the bass and drum introduce the second
part. Bloody hell, I’m starting to believe it’s the best song ever written!
My favorite track to play live is ‘Old Flames’. At our gigs, people have started to sing along to the main guitar riff as if it were a football song. Very surreal. My dream is to have actual football fans in stadiums picking up the chant. Preferably the fans of AA Gent, my favorite team.”
Recently I called you Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde. Nice off-stage, insane on-stage.
What happens when you turn into a manic persona on the podium, Emile?
“Haha, I can see why you’d say that. It just comes naturally. From the very first guitar chord onwards, I’m very much into the performance. It’s a massive outlet for me. As mentioned before, we come from a punk background, a genre where many singers deliver intense performances.
I guess that very much influenced me. If I could change one thing, though,
it would be to sweat a lot less on stage! But you can’t have it all, can you?”
Social media? A blessing or a pain in the ass?
“A blessing, largely thanks to two very talented photographers who are also friends. Ward Van Hooreweghe (@dailylifethroughfilm) and Gert-Jan Van Damme (@gee__jee). Their black and white pictures of our gigs are really important for our whole visual aesthetic on Instagram. We can’t thank them enough for everything they’ve done for us and other bands in our scene.
Beyond that, it’s also a great way to connect with other bands and see what they’re up to. You can learn a lot by observing other accounts – like finding places to play or seeing how they handle their album promotion campaigns.”
Which big name band would you really want to tour with and why?
“If we’re talking real big names then let’s go forIDLES. I think their fanbase would appreciate us, especially if they’d know I wrote my dissertation on their main online
fan group the AF Gang, haha.
IDLES have brought the post-punk revival to the mainstream but have seemingly stayed honest and grounded. Their on-stage energy is really inspiring and I feel like we could learn a lot from them. And maybe Joe Talbot could let me in on how to uphold that ferocious intensity for two and a half hours (and sweat a lot less).”
Next time JL/TUTV is on stage with Joe/Idles, I’ll tell him about The Rats
Suppose DISCO TO DISCO was the soundtrack of a movie.
Which one would it be?
“I’m not too good with movies! Maybe ‘Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas’?
Chaotic, surreal, full of highs and lows. It could work, no? Also, the film
is more or less name-checked in ‘Old Flames’ with a line about
experiencing ‘fear and self-loathing everywhere I go’.”
1998
Best track and album you heard this year?
“There’s too many. My favorite track was probably
‘Like Lovers Do’ by Iceage frontman Elias Rønnenfelt.
“I also really, really enjoyed English Teacher, The Chisel,
High Vis, Bad Breeding, RONKER, and Fat White Family.”
Do you have a favorite Xmas carol, Emile?
“It has to be ‘Fairytale of New York’ by The Pogues and Kirsty MacColl.
The melancholy, the vivid scene-setting, the desire to make things right
in this period of forgiveness, the unfolding argument, the grand finale,…
Simply amazing.
Did you see the rendition of that song at Shane MacGowan’s funeral?
People stood up and started dancing to it. At a funeral! That says enough,
I think.”
R.I.P. Shane MacGowan (1957-2023)
Which track do you play when the clock strikes midnight on New Year’s Eve?
“Also The Pogues! The perfect drunkard’s anthem Dirty Old Town. Hugging your friends while singing along to both the words and the melody of that song, a new year can’t start much better than that.
What’s in store for THE RATS in 2025?
“We’ve got a few super cool gigs lined up. The standout one is WE ARE OPEN,
the showcase festival in Antwerp, organised by Trix in February. It’s a massive
honour to be on that line-up.
I’m also really looking forward to a triple bill with Maria Iskariot and WIJF in our old hometown, Deinze. Then there’s Dirty Dender Fest on January 25, with our best pals RONKER, Doolhof in Kortrijk with our friends from Barno Koevoet, and a few things that haven’t been announced yet. Exciting stuff!
Thanks a bunch for this interview, Emile.
May the road rise with The Rats in 2025.
