It may be obtuse to utter, but there was little in Ratface’s excellent debut offering …On Ice to suggest that, little over two years later, he’d be releasing a record as astonishing as Enough Ratface.
There has been a rapid evolution, almost maturity in the Ratface sound. From a six-foot tall white man ‘attempting hip-hop,’ what we have now is undeniably one of the most talented producers still touring the toilet clubs around Britain. If you ignore the lyrics, which remain as poignant as always, and concentrate on the music – put together in a bedroom – what we’re left with is something truly stunning. If EMI had any sense, they’d be getting Ratface in to put some hair on the balls of the next Lily Allen record – which would be a bizarrely wonderful pairing.
Tracks like ‘Ratface Got Soul’ and ‘The Month that Tried to Kill Me’ have a wink back to his bounce along live persona, but it is the slower, tweely menacing ‘Bubbles’ and the reflective ‘Goodbye Blue Monday’ that prove unexpected highlights.
He may be treading the boards of under appreciation for a long while yet, but undoubtedly anyone looking to pick at the surface of Ratface’s talents will find a world of treasures beneath. We certainly haven’t had Enough Ratface yet.
Gareth Ma