(Self-released, digital)
It likely won’t shock anyone to know that, statistically, Gen Z shows less confidence than previous generations. A recent study by health care provider Cigna revealed that while 48 percent of American adults rated their mental health as “good,” only 33 percent of Gen Zers surveyed felt they were doing OK. Planet’s cooked, fam.
For those reading and muttering, “Yeah, no shit, Sherlock,” I’m sure we could collectively list reasons for the drop in generational rizz. But I’d rather take a page from Burlington folk duo Ratland, whose debut LP, Three Cheers for the Unqualified, serves as a warm, encouraging hug.
Featuring songwriters and self-described best friends Bobby Lussier and Jasper Jarecki, the band gets right to it, opening the album with a title track that reaches out with a steadying hand.
“Our eyes get bloodshot with the doubt / that we’ll never be what’s right / it’s time to clear all that shit out and find the light,” Jarecki sings over a gentle acoustic arrangement. “You’re good enough, you’re tall enough, / you’re fast enough to live, to hide, to thrive.”
That shot of folk serotonin runs through the 11 tracks, a feel-good vibe that sends an amorphous message of self-acceptance and self-love. Even on “The Fabled Glory Finish Line,” a tune that questions the nature of commitment while taking a hard look at a failed relationship, Ratland aren’t moping. It’s a song about accepting faults and moving on, with the telling line “Shouting to myself that good love’s not a waste of time / we all just want to come alive.”
Ratland released their debut the year after completing a monthlong residency at Radio Bean. To celebrate their run at the Burlington club, they created a mini documentary of the experience called “Ratland: The Movie,” in which Lussier and Jarecki’s adorable chemistry is on full display, from tender onstage hugs to scenes of them interacting with the band’s dog mascot, Otis, whom the record immortalizes with the song “Little Man Dressed as a Dog.”
The film perfectly captures the resolute optimism of Ratland and their folk-pop songs, with stirring performances of album tracks, onstage comedy skits and scenes of the band’s fans expressing their appreciation. It’s one big tender love-in, much like the record. And while Gen Xers like myself have blackened little hearts, suffused with cynicism and the pointless urge to scoff at real emotion, Ratland’s aggressive positivity on Three Cheers for the Unqualified doesn’t come across as contrived or even sappy to my jaded sensibilities.
Perhaps it’s because the band presents its idea of love and companionship without any qualifiers; no one on the album demands love or laments its lack as some sort of tragedy. Love exists. It’s there for you; grab it or don’t. (But Ratland really think you ought to do it, guys.)
Just listen to them on the album’s coda, “We’re Just Glad to Be Loved by You,” which is almost a thesis for the record. “All my friends are at my door, / singing a song I’ve heard before,” the song goes. “Nobody’s mad and we’re all in tune / Singing, ‘We’re just glad to be loved by you.’”
Three Cheers for the Unqualified is available at ratlandtheband.bandcamp.com. “Ratland: The Movie” can be seen on YouTube.
This article appears in Dec 3-9 2025.
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