Performer Page
Performer Page
The Rat Utopia Experiment
hometown: Tacoma, WA
🏠Tacoma, WA
The Rat Utopia Experiment is a band that can only exist because kids who grew up listening to their parents' Nirvana and MCR CDs and watching Fight Club, suddenly experienced the world around them falling apart in their most formative years. Informed by grunge, emo, and nu-metal and fueled by late-stage capitalist cynicism, this is music for disaffected youth searching for a greater purpose.
In the group’s first single, “Minds Like Concrete”, the then 14-year-old singer/songwriter Phia hones in on GenZ's frustration. This is a coming-of-age story, with themes of abandonment and starting over. Finding herself pushed into the world, utterly unprepared, the world is not how she thought it would be.
The song “Part/Whole” brings elements of 80s heavy metal, especially with the driving thump of bass pedaling. Riff based verse sections followed by soaring melodic choruses show this as well.
The back and forth dialog during the bridge provides a rare glimpse that these kids have a sense of humor as Phia describes a “community” (cult) she found online.
The structure of “Bleed Me Dry” is so anti-pop yet feels really natural. Thematically, it expands on “Minds Like Concrete”. Our hero is bearing the burden of what should have been. A world and a life very different from reality. With each passing day the facade crumbles further until she has no choice but to accept the truth. Don’t ask God “why,” ask yourself “what do I do next.”
“The Rat Who Barked” is about connection and human interaction. We are all alone in this world until we choose to not be. Sometimes a friend can be a lighthouse, a beacon to help guide you to a safe harbor. Other times you are that shining light for someone else.
I couldn't begin to explain where the jilted 3/4 waltz that is “Kool Sunday Schizophrenia” comes from. Surely no sane person would write a rock song with that rhythm... Honestly, that is a testament to the band's musical chops. Real nerd shit.
I won’t try to dig too deep into the meaning, but the predisposition to addiction is hereditary. True understanding of self is recognising harmful generational cycles, and having the courage to break them.
If I could take a great hair metal ballad, strip it of the hyper-masculine nonsense, add a pinch of Crimson And Clover with a dash of Mazzy Star... I might end up with something that resembles “Interlude For The Angels”. The band plays with such a delicate attention to detail, Interlude is truly a masterclass on dynamic songwriting. The percussion and guitar flourishes could have been arranged for a symphonic band.
I will always associate this song with their live debut of it. The scene was Red Square at PLU, framed by the tall cathedral, everybody sitting on the ground except Phia. As she struck the first chords time slowed. The audience, the foot traffic across campus, the war in Gaza, the burning world, everything blurred out of focus. A gentle breeze seemed to be focused directly on the makeshift stage, and created a truly cinematic image.
T.R.U.E. is a group of incredibly talented and ambitious musicians. Despite (or maybe because) of her young age, 16-year-old Phia Lane possesses great lyrical prowess and a sophisticated understanding of composition. Their sound borrows from bands such as Nirvana, Adolescents, The Gits, David Bowie and The Runaways. Other influences include Korn and Stone Temple Pilots.
Somehow, these Rat kids have managed to take all of these disparate styles and genres and create something new and fresh. There is no other band that sounds like them. In Part maybe, but not in Whole.
The band performed in SoundOff! 2024, the premier 21-and-under music showcase in the Pacific Northwest, has been the KISW 99.9 Loud and Local Band of The Week, while receiving airplay on KEXP AND KISW, and is currently featured in a commercial for Puget Sound Energy.
J - Underground Table Podcast