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NEWS

11/14/09

In the studio today, I knew we had something special. It keeps revealing itself. Rich, glittering, multi-layered, opalescent, labyrinthine. Quietly jeweled. A spectacle not making a spectacle of itself. Just being, reflecting in all directions.

10/02/09

Well, everyone. Seems to have become fall suddenly. I'm windswept and burnt orange. Fires are being lit, leaves are asunder, and I am planning many things. The tunes are a bubbling cauldron. Simmer simmer, little ones. Stay warm by the coals.
We are adding spices and herbs to the widescreen steam. It will happen, just let it stew. We are stirring the pot. Stay with us. You will be rewarded.

07/20/09

I've recently had the honor of having a secret guest vocalist grace my new album with her singing. Details will follow as we lead up to the release, but I don't want to spoil the surprise just now. We hunkered down in a basement studio in Brooklyn and captured her tones. It was bliss. There's so much cooking right now with this project. Strings are being layered, synths are vibrating, tracks are mixing, voices are blending. It definitely has scope. Cinema-Scope, only sonic. Soon, baby, soon.

04/03/09

The album is taking shape. Jeral is upstate with me laying down strings this weekend at Dryhill Studios. It's grey, wet, and very, very windy. Everything is blowing everywhere. Just the right atmsosphere. I can't wait for you all to hear this.

02/05/09

You can have it if you want it. It'll shuffle for you, too.

01/28/09

bridgit's back
Re-introducing Bridgit. The new and improved widget portal to all things Rat Wakes Red on the web.
Get it, share it, embed it, post it. Just use it! Click here.

12/27/09

I just put up a page on thesixtyone.com. The address is thesixtyone.com/ratwakesred.
If you haven't seen this site, check it out. It's a pretty cool place to hear new music.
Oh, and Happy New Year! Thanks for supporting Rat Wakes Red.

05/06/08

Energy Garage has been entered and reviewed in the Ectophiles' Guide to Good Music.
Also, the guide re-visited Horizon Drops and gave it a second review. A nice surprise!
We love the Ectophiles' Guide and are happy they include Rat Wakes Red in their esteemed pantheon.
Click here to read the new Energy Garage review here.
Click here to read our entire Ectophiles' Guide page.

04/10/08

Click here to use the new Official Rat Wakes Red Bridgit, a widget portal to all the RWR pages online. From MySpace to Facebook to iTunes and everything in between. Check it out, add and use it on your Facebook profile/page, see some new sites, and if you are already a member of any of them, drop me a line and say hello, or join up and do the same. Happy spring!

01/18/08

Rat Wakes Red has a home on Facebook now! Click here to view.
Also, visit our pages on Last.FM, PureVolume, ReverbNation, OurStage, YouTube, TagWorld
and be sure to keep an eye out for our new page on AbsolutePunk!

Happy New Year!

11/19/07

Rat Wakes Red will be featured on XM SATELLiTE RADiO this Thanksgiving, November 22nd at 10PM ET on
the Radar Report on XMU Channel 43. The Radar Report is a special feature highlighting XMU's most notable bands each week. The Radar Report re-airs every Friday at 2PM ET and Saturday at 6AM ET. The show airs on: XMU, XM RADIO Channel 43, XM RADIO Online, Direct TV Channel 831 and on AOL. XMU, XM 43, is located on XM SATELLiTE RADiO in the United States and Canada: xmradio.com or xmu.xmradio.com. If you don't have XM you can listen online with A FREE ACCOUNT simply go to xmro.xmradio.com and use the following code: XMB4MD.

When you sign up for a free account, you can listen for several days for free with no credit cards.
All you need is an email address.

Happy Thanksgiving!

10/04/07

Energy Garage is here. After bated breath and much anticipation, you can now order the new ep/dvd which began
life during the sessions for Horizon Drops and were completed for this new collection. A four song ep and music video dvd, "Anyway Now", originally released on Horizon Drops, shows up again on track 4 and as a music video to sate the
masses with visuals. Three new songs, "Energy Garage", "You" and "Be Kissed" are spacey acoustic to pop with
sweeping strings to quirky rock nugget. Something to enjoy on its own and to tie you over since the next
full-length project is under wraps and proving to be yet another departure as well as a new return to form.
CLICK HERE FOR DETAILS

VOTE FOR THE VIDEO AND OUR SONGS ON OURSTAGE!

08/25/07

We are pleased to announce that the video of "Anyway Now" from Rat Wakes Red's new "Energy Garage" ep/dvd,
available October 2007, is being featured and can be seen exclusively now at Digifestival.net.

Digi Festival, created in 2004, is the first online festival in streaming video at full TV broadcast resolution. The festival's purpose is to extend the reach and popularity of artists by exhibiting their works through innovative web technology.

Visitors to the site can participate and vote for their favorites videos. Visit our link below and vote directly on our page by simply clicking on the buttons.Voting closes on September 15th so vote now because winning videos will be presented at the final exhibits in Milan and Florence, Italy on October 25th -28th during the Festival Della Creativita
and partner events around the world.

04/30/07

RWR emerged from the studio in late March with the beginnings of the new album. After a week of twelve hour days
in the darkness, the new project began to reveal itself. Will keep you posted on the proceedings.

Before the new full-length is completed, we plan to release a new EP/Video. The "Anyway Now " video and a few
new songs will comprise this surprise late summer CD/DVD. Title and release date TBA.

01/11/07

The video for "Anyway Now" is getting ready to drop. Directed by Antonio Leon and set/lit by Tim Gerken,
who did the album photos for Horizon Drops, it is beautiful and we can't wait to show you all.
Stay tuned for news on how to see it and for now click here to see exclusive stills.

Thanks to everyone who came to the show at the Brooklyn Lyceum. What a good night it was.

We are now featuring a music download center here and on our MySpace page

Final preparations are being made to begin recording the new album. We plan to start this winter.

New review for the Weekend EP in The Big Takeover! And a good one it is. Click here to see it.

LATEST REVIEWS
(Click here for more reviews!)

The Ectophiles' Guide
04 May 2008
Rat Wakes Red returns with a folksy and intriguing EP, only four songs but they really hit the mark. "Energy Garage" itself is soft folk with a superlative vocal. "You" is dreamy and reminds me of Red House Painters, in its slow hush. The EP is over way too soon and whets the appetite for a new album.

The Big Takeover
Issue 61, Winter 07/08
Jack Rabid
With each release, New Yorker James Raftery impresses more. Although one thinks of him as a modern folkie in the Kristin Hersh "Your Ghost" vein, it's electric guitars that make this quiet sound on the oddly named "Energy Garage". (It's actually more like a nice afternoon nap.) Bouts of guitar texture seem to tumble down from nowhere to add a mournful quality to Raftery's Elliot Smith-like voice. And when producer Jeral Benjamin brings back her violas (regrettably missing from the sophomore Horizon Drops) on "You", it's like your well-thumbed This Mortal Coil records, with light drums and bass to add to a light breeze. Lovely! "Be Kissed" is an incongruous, disjointed punchy, rhythmic number-not sure about that one-but Horizon's familiar "Anyway Now" is a good closer. (That song also appears on the video on the accompanying DVD). Time for LP #3!

Sentimentalist
Issue 26, Fall 2007
Cleo
Though their new release Energy Garage will be nearly out when this issue hits, it's always worth going back and exploring a band's previous release. Horizon Drops combines shimmering 4AD, Throwing Muses inspired moments with chunky bass-fueled sounds. Songs like "Weekend" stand out with hooks, smooth vocals and off-kilter phrasing reminiscent of bands like Autolux, which is always a plus. Rat Wakes Red's approach is a fragile balance between cocksure and vulnerable, drawing you in immediately. Songwriter James Raftery has a knack for switching between intensity ("Spider") and sublime introspection ("Lovely Invalid") with the greatest of ease, making for a dynamic listen.

The Big Takeover
Issue 59, Winter 2007
Jack Rabid
New York’s own solo alterna-folkie James Raftery soldiers on with his talented female producer Jeral Benjamin. This stopgap EP is a sampler, containing two songs from the forthcoming Horizon Drops (possibly out when you read this), two from the previous debut Dizzy on Daddy (said me: “Acoustic folk guitar and viola, with a whispery, troubled voice? Yes please!”), and one bonus track for completists. The bonus track is a nice acoustic outing, but the two new songs suggest an intriguing, totally new direction, with a drummer added and electric guitars. “Weekend” is like the particular later-‘80’s 4AD period when Ivo Watts-Russell was fixated on Pixies and Throwing Muses, with loopy harsh guitar, beat, and cooed vocal. And “Galaxy” is like that with a bit of what you liked about Weezer’s radio hits. Both good! -Bring on the LP.

The Big Takeover
Issue 58, Spring 2006
Mark Suppanz
Five years after this outfit's attractive, whispery, acoustic/viola-laden debut, Dizzy on Daddy, Rat Wakes Red (AKA James Raftery) finally releases a follow-up. Old fans will be surprised to find a re-vamped beefed-up sound; acoustic guitars have been replaced by electrics, and drummer Christy Davis joins Raftery to further toughen the attack. And while Jeral Benjamin returns to provide typically excellent, warm production, her viola is completely AWOL (pout, pout!). Thankfully, Raftery's multi-tracked, Elliot Smith-like voice still beguiles, ensuring plenty of lovely moments (check out "Galaxy", "Lovely Invalid" and "Anyway Now"). Further, Davis's dynamic stick-work not only adds more of a post-punk edginess and tension, but also allows Raftery to infuse each song with varied and shifting loud/soft moods. Despite the stylistic alterations, Horizon Drops is another modest winner.

Grave Concerns E-zine
May 5, 2006
Joshua Heinrich
Based in well-crafted pop sensibilities, Rat Wakes Red's Horizon Drops is, without a doubt, a significant stylistic departure from the band's previous output, but it's also one that works...read more

Grave Concerns E-zine
May 5, 2006
Joshua Heinrich
Dizzy on Daddy, is something of a foray into the duality of light and dark, moody melancholia juxtaposed against airier, more upbeat offerings...is permeated by strong songwriting by central member James Raftery and excellent production from violist Jeral Benjamin...read more

MORE REVIEWS

Read the tale of another satisfied listener! Click here and scroll down for a review on Amazon.com.

The Big Takeover
Jack Rabid
Acoustic folk guitar and viola, with a whispery, troubled voice? Yes please! Rat Wakes Red is a strange moniker for such an exquisite murmur...read more

Alarm Magazine
Eddie Fournier
Raftery is quite the storyteller, which is part of what breaks your heart, because it often sounds as though he is speaking directly to you...read more

Boston's Weekly Dig
Graham Wilson
Rat Wakes Red blends neo-gothic-folk with modern 21st century recording to produce a sublime sonic sedation of melodies...read more

Reno Gazette-Journal
Mark Earnest
Fans of the darker side of mellowness (or classic 4AD records) should seek it out...read more

hEARd Magazine
Australia
A superbly crafted release...Every song without exception sees this most interesting of bands make their mark on your mind...about as good as it gets...read more

Splendid Ezine
Deirdre Devers
Rat Wakes Red...pay(s) homage to the likes of Kristin Hersh, Kate Bush and Leonard Cohen, who also make pain and loss the cornerstone of their musical melodramas...read more

NY Rock
Bill Ribas
...the purity and simplicity of the instrumentation, the sense of sadness culled from the lyrics, and the pop folk feel together all sounds so refreshing it's hard to get the disc out of the player...read more

L'Entrepôt
Belgium
Rat Wakes Red makes music for autumn evenings. Outside it is cold and windy. Inside we have the music to warm our body...read more