Coloring their sauntering, reflective indie rock with distortion and a hint of more rustic alt-country, Chicago-based Ratboys emerged with their first EP, Ratboy, in 2015. They fleshed out their palette, adding pedal steel, strings, and more by the time their second full-length, 2017's GN, was released.

Ratboys founding members Julia Steiner and David Sagan met as freshman at the University of Notre Dame and had begun recording together by the end of the school year. By their sophomore year, they were performing at private shows, at first as an acoustic duo. Swerp Records issued their debut EP, Ratboy, in 2012. By the time they graduated (Steiner in 2014 and Sagan a year later), they had gone electric, added bassist William Lange and drummer Jordan Parel to the lineup, and signed with Topshelf Records. The label released Ratboys' debut album, AOID, in June 2015. With stops in the U.S. and Europe, they toured for over a year in support of the record, adding trumpet player Cody Owens to the group and replacing Parel with drummer Pat Kennedy along the way.

Without relinquishing their easygoing mix of jangle and distortion, they had friends contribute instruments like pedal steel, accordion, and strings to their second album, 2017's GN (short for "goodnight"). It featured Sean Neumann on bass and Danny Lyons on drums. The heartache-themed EP GL ("good luck") followed a year later. Ratboys' third long-player, Printer's Devil, arrived on Topshelf in February 2020. Recorded live at Decade Music Studios in Chicago with co-producer Erik Rasmussen, it saw the core duo joined by Neumann and drummer Marcus Nuccio (Dowsing, Pet Symmetry). ~ Marcy Donelson, Rovi