As the weather warms and we shed our headphone-ear-muffs for backyard party mix tapes, the time is perfect for Rat Fancy to release their debut EP: Suck A Lemon.

Rat Fancy is ex-Sweater Girl Diana Barraza (vocals/guitar), Gregory Johnson (guitar / keyboard) and Gavin Glidewell (drums). Hailing from Los Angeles, they know a thing or two about sunshine and how to harness the power of the sun into C86-esque indie-pop.

The songs are buoyant, snarky and serve as “possibly the sweetest collection of ‘fuck you’s ever committed to vinyl.” The twee is punchy and punk’d out. As their label succinctly declares: “It’s the sound of being fucked up on pollen and sugar, skidding through a dizzy blissful spring of laughter and loss.”

The song I keep revisiting is “About You.” The “manifesto for non-conformity” drew me in with guitars reminiscent of “I Want To Be Adored” (Stone Roses) together with mischievous Kim-Deal-style-bass and nostalgic keyboard riffs – making my heart both swell and swirl.

The EP releases May 26, 2017 on HHBTM Records (order it!). Note the limited edition option of color vinyl with a screen-printed pillowcase!

We’re excited to share an exclusive stream of it so you can listen to it right now, on repeat:

Intrigued? The band was kind enough to share the story for each of the EPs tracks:

• “Suck A Lemon”
  The first RAT FANCY song ever written, “Suck A Lemon” is an anti-drama anthem. Rather than letting negative people bring you down, RAT FANCY tells them to take their bad vibes and go suck a lemon because life’s too short to waste on being bitter. The slower version (“Suck A Lemon II), has a dreamy vibe where you can almost imagine a person writing away bad feelings in their diary. The fast version (“Suck A Lemon I), makes the message clear with distorted guitars and pop-driven synth.
• “I Can’t Dance To The Smiths Anymore”
  Originally, Diana had written a poem by the same name years ago. Not intended to knock the seminal 80s group, “I Can’t Dance To The Smiths Anymore” is more about growing as a person and not wanting to succumb to melodramatic teenage sentiments. Life’s more fun when you’re curious about new music and look beyond new wave comfort food. It really isn’t hard to be gentle and kind.
• “FIVE FINGERS”
  What did the five fingers say to the face? To quote Dave Chappelle’s Rick James: “Slap!” FIVE FINGERS isn’t so much about getting even or smacking haters, but about not putting up with people who aren’t in your corner. Getting a bit older, you realize that fair weather friends aren’t worth your time and energy. It’s the real friends in your life who are worth the effort.
• “Beyond Belief”
  It’s no secret that RAT FANCY loves sci-fi and the paranormal. One day, Diana and Greg realized that they might be the only living fans of the long-ended TV show ‘Beyond Belief: Fact or Fiction.’ Always amazed by the ridiculous stories based on the research of author Robert Trallins, Diana and Greg read about the writer’s life, a strange true-life tale. “Beyond Belief” is a fictionalized account of the author’s possible close encounters and things that kept him up at night.
• “About You”
  Even bygone TV shows like “The Twilight Zone” showed us how eerie conformity can be; yet, even in 2016, people are often pre-judged or put down just for being different. “About You” celebrates how people should be accepted and loved for being who they are. Short and to the point, “About You” aims to repel small-minded thinking and to accept not only originality in the world, but a freedom to look how you like, love who you want, and to live without fear of animosity.

They are playing some shows around Cali in the short term and will be part of this year’s Athen’s PopFest in August.