Always dedicated to doing things on their own terms, the internationally unknown adventures of Rat Boy have taken them from Essex and across the world: rising up the UK charts, spending time working in America with one of their all-time favorite artists Tim Armstrong (Rancid, Operation Ivy), and earning obsessive fandom in Japan. But where you’re from is an inescapable part of who you are, and the band are continually inspired by their TOWIE home county. That’s something they demonstrate with today’s release of their new single ‘One in a Million.’
‘One in a Million’ is a laidback ska groove which feels like a space-age version of The Specials if they had been a band of Gen Zs raised in the Essex heartlands surrounded by wheeler-dealers, dodgy geezers, and blokes who wash their Ford Mondeos religiously every Sunday morning.
Frontman Jordan Cardy’s charismatically apathetic vocal delivery is the perfect tone for a song about wanting it all while making the absolute bare minimum level of effort, and it has another distinctive edge with guest vocals courtesy of cult emo rapper Lil Aaron. Jordan says: “‘One In A Million’ is about doing the lottery every week imagining what it would be like if you had all that nice cash”.
‘One in a Million emerges as Rat Boy prepare to play their first London gig in six years at The Lower Third this thursday. They last hit the capital for a three night stand of headline shows at the Electric Ballroom, the Electric Brixton, and Bush Hall, and have since played gigs with Yungblud and The Interrupters as well as Coachella. Rat Boy originated as Jordan’s solo project, but the more they played together, the more he loved the camaraderie, energy, and the wealth of ideas that comes with being a gang, with RAT BOY now officially a band completed by Liam Haygarth (bass), Harry Todd (guitar) and Noah Booth (drums).