Ratboys have announced their new album, Singin’ to an Empty Chair, out Feb. 6 via New West Records. Taking inspiration from the empty chair therapy technique, lead singer and guitarist Julia Steiner first conceptualized Singin’ to an Empty Chair after being estranged from someone but wanting to open up a line of communication.
“A big, overarching theme of this record is my attempt to document my experience being estranged from a close loved one,” Steiner says. “The goal is to update this person on what’s been going on in my life and to try to bridge that impasse and reach out a hand into the void.”
Approaching the album like a patchwork quilt, the 11-track album was written in a cabin in Wisconsin’s Driftless Area and recorded in Steve Albini’s Electrical Audio studio in Chicago and Rosebud Studio in Evanston, Illinois. “We recorded the songs in all these different places, so we approached it in a way where different songs had different scenes,” bassist Sean Neumann says. “Certain parts of songs were recorded in different spaces, and we switch back and forth between them throughout the record to help tell the story of each song.”
Read more: Ratboys know no bounds
Coinciding with the album announcement is “Anywhere,” the album’s first single. The music video, directed by Bobby Butterscotch, cuts between footage of the band as they play in a fish store with visuals of a goldfish and their owner on a journey throughout Chicago. Steiner found inspiration for the track after witnessing guitarist Dave Sagan’s family dog and its devotion to Sagan’s mother. “Whenever Dave’s mom leaves the room, his whole world just falls apart,” she says. “You can see it in his face. I think a lot of us can relate to that kind of anxious attachment.”
After wrapping up festival dates in Europe, the band will embark on a North American tour in early 2026 in support of the new album, with support from Florry, villagerrr, and Free Range. Check out the Singin’ to an Empty Chair tracklist, their upcoming tour dates, and the music video for “Anywhere” below.
            
Ratboys – Singin’ to an Empty Chair tracklist
1. “Open Up”
2. “Know You Then”
3. “Light Night Mountains All That”
4. “Anywhere”
5. “Penny in the Lake”
6. “Strange Love”
7. “The World, So Madly”
8. “Just Want You to Know the Truth”
9. “What’s Right?”
10. “Burn It Down”
11. “At Peace in the Hundred Acre Wood”
Ratboys 2025/2026 tour dates
10/31 – Amsterdam, NL @ London Calling Festival  
11/01 – Groningen, NL @ Take Root Festival  
11/03 – Edinburgh, UK @ The Mash House  
11/04 – Newcastle, UK @ Xerox  
11/05 – London, UK @ Pitchfork London  
11/07 – Brighton, UK @ Mutations Festival  
02/25 – Detroit, MI, US @ El Club  
02/26 – Toronto, ON, CA @ Lee’s Palace 
02/27 – Montreal, QC, CA @ Bar Le Ritz PDB  
02/28 – Cambridge, MA, US @ The Sinclair  
03/03 – Philadelphia, PA, US @ First Unitarian Church  
03/05 – Brooklyn, NY, US @ Warsaw  
03/06 – Washington, DC, US @ 9:30 Club  
03/07 – Richmond, VA, US @ The Broadberry  
03/08 – Durham, NC, US @ Motorco Music Hall  
03/10 – Asheville, NC, US @ The Grey Eagle  
03/11 – Atlanta, GA, US @ Terminal West  
03/12 – Nashville, TN, US @ The Basement East  
03/13 – Louisville, KY, US @ Zanzabar  
03/14 – Milwaukee, WI, US @ Vivarium  
03/24 – St. Louis, MO, US @ Off Broadway  
03/25 – Kansas City, MO, US @ recordBar  
03/26 – Fayetteville, AR, US @ George’s Majestic Lounge  
03/27 – Dallas, TX, US @ Club Dada  
03/28 – Austin, TX, US @ Mohawk  
03/30 – Albuquerque, NM, US @ Launchpad  
03/31 – Phoenix, AZ, US @ Valley Bar  
04/01 – San Diego, CA, US @ Soda Bar  
04/03 – Los Angeles, CA, US @ Teragram Ballroom  
04/04 – San Francisco, CA, US @ August Hall  
04/06 – Vancouver, BC, CA @ Biltmore Cabaret  
04/07 – Seattle, WA, US @ Neumos  
04/08 – Portland, OR, US @ Aladdin Theater  
04/10 – Boise, ID, US @ Shrine Social Club  
04/11 – Salt Lake City, UT, US @ The Urban Lounge  
04/13 – Denver, CO, US @ Bluebird Theater  
04/15 – Omaha, NE, US @ The Waiting Room  
04/16 – Minneapolis, MN, US @ Fine Line  
04/17 – Madison, WI, US @ Atwood Music Hall  
04/18 – Chicago, IL, US @ The Vic Theatre
 
			

















