“Gay Song” - Ratfink!
Photo Credit: Artist EPK
Let’s set the scene: it’s a cloudy Melbourne afternoon, you’re sitting in your share house kitchen in Carlton North, someone’s just brewed a cup of tea in a mug with a chipped handle, and “Gay Song” by Ratfink! is playing through a crackly Bluetooth speaker in the next room. It’s raw. It’s tender. It’s devastatingly real. And it feels like someone finally said the quiet parts out loud.
Ratfink! — the endearingly scrappy duo of Liv and Raph — are not just making DIY pop songs. They’re bottling up the stuff you only talk about on long walks at night or in the backseat of a parked car with the windows slightly fogged up. “Gay Song,” their second single from their upcoming record WHEN U WERE MINE, is the emotional gut punch you didn’t know you needed.
At its core, “Gay Song” is exactly what it says on the tin — a queer coming-of-age story told with a fearless kind of softness. This isn’t some over-produced, glittery Pride anthem. This is real-life queer adolescence, growing up gay in a conservative town, putting on a straight face in church pews, silently screaming into a pillow because you just know you’re different.
Musically, it leans into indie folk territory — think early Julia Jacklin, a whisper of Soccer Mommy, or even the quiet bravery of Big Thief’s more stripped-back moments. It builds — not into some grand crescendo, but into a quiet storm of dreamy textures, layered harmonies, and emotional urgency.
Compared to their first release “About Ya,” which leaned more into mellow dream pop with hazy reverb and daydreamy feels, “Gay Song” feels deliberately bare-bones — like they’re peeling back the production to let the story breathe. It’s a smart move. The vulnerability of the lyrics doesn’t get buried under too much polish, and instead we’re left with something raw and intimate.
Photo Credit: Artist EPK
You can hear that this song was born in a share house — not in a limiting way, but in a way that feels cozy and real. There’s that unfiltered authenticity that’s so hard to fake: maybe you’ll hear a creak in the floorboards or the echo of a room with bad insulation. But that just adds to the charm. It feels like you're sitting in the room with Liv and Raph, maybe perched on the edge of their couch, listening as they work through all the things they never got to say when they were younger.
And while the song’s subject is deeply personal — a girl grappling with her identity in a world that doesn’t understand her — it’s also incredibly universal. Anyone who’s ever felt like they didn’t belong, who’s ever had to hide the truest parts of themselves, will find something of their own story in this song.
“Gay Song” isn’t trying to be a statement piece, but that’s exactly what makes it powerful. It’s the honesty, the imperfections, the whispered bravery that hits you hardest. In a world full of queer representation that can sometimes feel overly curated, here’s a track that’s beautifully unfiltered.
With WHEN U WERE MINE on the horizon, Ratfink! are quickly carving out a space in Australia’s indie scene as storytellers with something to say and no interest in pretending otherwise. If “Gay Song” is any indication, the record’s going to be one hell of a cathartic ride.
Put it on. Feel it. Cry a little. Call your best mate. It’s that kind of song.
“Gay Song” is available now on all major streaming platforms
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