Biography
Originally a bedroom pop duo based in Los Angeles, Rat Fancy gradually transformed into a higher-energy ensemble once its roster expanded and its compositional approach matured. The quartet’s first full-length release, the 2019 album Stay Cool, merged the group’s own material with the rougher textures drawn from 1990s indie rock.
Guitarist, vocalist, and songwriter Diana Barraza joined forces with multi-instrumentalist Gregory Johnson to launch the project in 2016. Their initial efforts leaned into dreamy, lo-fi textures saturated with synths and reverb, a style preserved across the 2017 EP Suck a Lemon. That same year the pair moved beyond the studio by making their first live appearance at South by Southwest, after which bassist Dan Fernandez and drummer Matt Sturgis joined the lineup. The addition of a rhythm section pushed the music toward a harder, fuzzier sound. To document these more propulsive compositions, the band enlisted producer David Newton, previously a member of the Mighty Lemon Drops, resulting in Stay Cool.
Guitarist, vocalist, and songwriter Diana Barraza joined forces with multi-instrumentalist Gregory Johnson to launch the project in 2016. Their initial efforts leaned into dreamy, lo-fi textures saturated with synths and reverb, a style preserved across the 2017 EP Suck a Lemon. That same year the pair moved beyond the studio by making their first live appearance at South by Southwest, after which bassist Dan Fernandez and drummer Matt Sturgis joined the lineup. The addition of a rhythm section pushed the music toward a harder, fuzzier sound. To document these more propulsive compositions, the band enlisted producer David Newton, previously a member of the Mighty Lemon Drops, resulting in Stay Cool.