Ratatat vs. Moon Hooch
Ratatat and Moon Hooch are two instrumental bands, meaning neither of the two have any vocals, save the occasional sample of a word or phrase. But, they have two completely different styles and sounds. Nevertheless, they’ll both have you bumping your head no matter where you are or what you’e doing. Read below for a background on each group, my four favorite songs by them, and then which I like better and why!
Ratatat
A two-man group from Brooklyn, New York, Ratatat is the more popular of these two music groups. They play electric rock music, using an electric guitar, electric bass, melodica, percussion, and a synthesizer to make their sounds. Their songs typically consist of a single riff that gets built on and eventually changed as the song goes on, and are very conducive to chilling and vibing. While the music is very groovy and cerebral, they offer 2-3 intense ‘drops’ where the riff and auxiliary sounds culminate in a visceral listening experience. Their music is perfect to study to, drive to, or even get up and move to, as their repertoire has a wide range of energy levels. My favorite song by them is one of their more obscure songs: ‘Abrasive.’ The song begins with an electric guitar laying down the riff (modified using peddles), followed by a synthesizer complementing it over the beat. The sound of the drum swells into earshot, and the bass picks up the baseline to the riff the guitar established. Following this, the guitar changes pedals and starts grooving over the chorus of instruments. As the song progresses, each instrument becomes more pronounced, especially the synth, which adds more and more sounds to the song. There are a few ups and downs, and then one final ascension to end the song on the highest note of the experience. This is one of their more chill, vibe along songs, but the slow progression and intricacy of the notes makes it my favorite. All of Ratatat’s music is polished and clean sounding.
Moon Hooch
The lesser known of these two bands, Moon Hooch is also from Brooklyn, New York. The trio consists of two saxophonists and a drummer, leading to a more dirty, raw, and tangible sound of music. Aside from the instruments, one thing that contributes heavily to this tone is their style of play: Moon Hooch commonly breaks the structure of their songs to boast a solo or change the course of the song completely by abandoning the riff and making a new one. Even so, their music follows a similar pattern to Ratatat of establishing a riff, then working off of it to create a more interesting and bumpy tune. Because of the saxophones and high tempos, Moon Hooch’s music is very upbeat and good to dance to. Not coincidentally, my favorite song by them is also their most popular, ‘Number 9.’ Candidly put, the song is an absolute banger. It starts with a sample of a Metro announcement, then jumps right into the riff on the sax. The riff is jumpy, light, and catchy. As per usual, they build off this riff throughout the song until 2:31, where they’ve finished building up the audience, and just explode in a representation of how you’re is feeling at the time: your brain can only get so excited before it goes crazy and feels like absolute chaos, and that’s what the song is here. After a quick digression, the song returns to the riff in full swing to usher out the tune in perfect, energetic fashion. Moon Hooch’s alternative style is perfect to bump in headphones on a walk or run, or to blast through speakers at a dance party.
Who’s Better?
I like ‘Number 9’ by Moon Hooch at least twice as much as I like any song by Ratatat. That being said, many other songs by Moon Hooch give me an itch that they’re about to fall into the riff from ‘Number 9,’ but never do. It’s slightly unnerving to my ear, and I think it’s due to the lack of diversity in the sounds of the instruments between all of the songs: Drum, tenor sax, and baritone sax. Conversely, each Ratatat song feels like a new, independent experience to me. While I can connect to Moon Hooch’s songs in a more raw, physical way, I like the cerebral nature and diversity of Ratatat’s music more.
Honorable mentions