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
