. “I was blown away by their energy and obvious joy at playing together. They reminded me of the feeling that makes you want to create a band in the first place.” – Will Sergeant, Echo and the Bunnymen

“I love Rats on Rafts. Go and see them play live. Even if you have to travel to Rotterdam.” – Alex Kapranos, Franz Ferdinand

“Rats On Rafts don’t so much slow down and pull up to their terminal, but rather hammer their foot to the accelerator and drive straight off the end of a cliff.” – Loud & Quiet

“They are one of those bands whose recordings to date bear no relation to how earth shatteringly brilliant they are live.” – Richard Foster, Incendiary Magazine/The Quietus

Rotterdam’s rousing Rats On Rafts have signed to Fire Records joining visionaries Blank Realm, Surf City, Death And Vanilla and Virginia Wing. There will be an extensive European tour later in the year including dates at Incubate, Club Bad Bonn, Espace B and Soy Festival. Self-produced, recorded and mastered with analogue equipment, Rats On Rafts have moved away from the pop sounds of their first record, refining and emulating the explosive outbursts heard in their recent live shows. Intense with integrity, the structured LP is “sicker and faster – they’ve sharpened their post-punk razors for the occasion” Noisey. Following on from their debut LP ‘The Moon Is Big’ initially released three years ago via Dutch indie label Subroutine Records, the album was later given a re-release on TopNotch that saw it receive wider critical acclaim. Their ferocious and intoxicating live shows have seen The Rats gain a legion of fans from Franz Ferdinand’s Alex Kapranos, Will Sergeant of Echo & The Bunnymen to Louder Than War/The Membranes’ John Robb. Notable festival performances include Primavera Sound, Incubate, Metropolis Festival and Eurosonic. Rats on Rafts are David Fagan (vox/guitar), Arnoud Verheul (guitar), Florian Veenhuis (bass) and Joris Frowein (drums).