Best Music of July, 2008: "LP3" by Ratatat

Why it's significant: Episodes of This American Life and several commercials have featured Ratatat's music as a backdrop, but this New York duo's instrumental rock is much more than just pretty audio wallpaper.

The sound of Ratatat's first two albums is distinctive and awesome. Combining elements of Baroque Classical music, turn-of-the-century mainstream hip hop production (think the Neptunes circa Jay-Z's "I Just Wanna Love U") and straightforward rock ‘n' roll,  Mike Stroud and Evan Mast employed guitar, bass, synthesizer, an occasional cat hiss and not much else to create their own unique style.

Though fans may not be tired of the schtick Ratatat honed on their debut and the followup, Classics, it's understandable that the dudes who have to play these songs night after night might want to shake things up a bit, so it makes sense that LP3 shows the band expanding their sonic palette.

While the framework the band established on earlier works is still evident here, the band incorporates more natural-sounding instrumentation and international stylistic touches, making this latest album favorably comparable to Thievery Corporation's best work.

Though LP3 tracks such as "Shempi" indicate the band isn't completely ready to abandon their robot disco tendencies, this album's relative lack of rigidity and warmer tone makes the band seem more human—  and maybe even a little bit more fun.

Dig this (possibly fan-made) video for their single, "Mirando," which remixes some footage from Predator:

-- Jeff Reguilon