1 1

PRE-ORDER: Ratboys "Singin' to an Empty Chair" CD (Indie Exclusive Signed Cover)

PRE-ORDER: Ratboys "Singin' to an Empty Chair" CD (Indie Exclusive Signed Cover)

$15.99 USD
$15.99 USD
Sale Sold out
Shipping calculated at checkout.

THIS IS A PRE-ORDER: We expect this to ship on or around FEBRUARY 13th, 2026. Any items ordered with this will be held until they can ship together. If you need other items faster please place a separate order for those items. 

Despite its title, Ratboys’ new album Singin’ to an Empty Chair is not defined by what’s missing. Rather, it’s the beginning of an important dialogue with a close loved one, vocalist Julia Steiner finds herself estranged from. The music on the band’s sixth studio album – its first for New West Records – fills the space that person left behind with 11 songs showcasing Ratboys at the peak of their powers — twangy, effervescent, as confident as they’ve ever been, and perhaps more emotionally interrogative than ever before. The four-piece Chicago band followed up 2023’s highly acclaimed The Window by reconvening with co-producer Chris Walla to begin tracking at a rural Wisconsin cabin before taking the songs to Steve Albini’s famed Electrical Audio studios in Chicago and later to Rosebud Studio in Evanston, Illinois. The results veer from bubbly power-pop on “Anywhere” to irresistible post-country on “Penny in the Lake,” along with heart-piercing ballads like “Just Want You to Know the Truth” and an exhilarating detour into the extraterrestrial on “Light Night Mountains All That,” which Steiner dubs the band’s mammoth “wormhole jam.” Singin’ to an Empty Chair also marks the first Ratboys album written since Steiner began therapy, which the singer/lyricist credits for the clarity found across the album’s unflinching examinations of relationship and self. Fittingly, as the album begins by extending a hand into the void, it concludes with a scene of serenity – all while weaving candid honesty, humor, chaos, and whimsy along the way. “It's not all doom and gloom,” Steiner says. “The experience of making this record definitely gives me hope for whatever happens next.”

street date 2/6/2026

Shipping, Returns & Cancellations

SHIPPING:

We ship Monday through Friday. Orders typically ship within 24-72 hours. Tracking is sent to the email you provide at check out and may take a few days to become active.

Any items ordered with Pre-Orders will be held until they can all ship together. If you need in stock items faster please order them seperately.

RETURNS:

Returns are only accepted on damaged or defective items. Return requests must be made within 7 days of delivery. Please save the original packaging.

If you own a Crosley, Victrola or any other lower end turntable that has no ability to adjust the weight of the tone arm and are experiencing skipping on a new record please try the "Penny Trick". Simply place a penny on the top of the cartidge and it should provide enough weight to resolve your issues. While a great entry to the world of vinyl we do recommend upgrading to a turntable with a tone arm that can be adjusted as this issue will randomly occur. We do not take returns in these cases.

Resellers: If you are buying from us for resale we honestly don't mind. However, please don't panic if something you bought suddenly isn't flipable for more money and then try to return stuff to us because you feel like you made a bad investment choice. Despite our outsized reputation we're a small shop, not amazon. Absorbing these costs adds up on places like ours. Plus a little patience always tends to pay off.

CANCELLATIONS:

Due to an increasing number of payment processors no longer returning transaction fees to sellers on cancelled orders and rising labor costs any orders or pre-orders that need to be cancelled before shipment will be assessed a 5% cancellation/restocking fee on the order total including shipping and any other taxes or fees associated with the order.

Thank you for your understanding.

View full details

  • All Domestic orders over $75 ship for free!

    Free shipping threshold does not include sales tax.