Year of the Rat is the debut extended play by Canadian grunge duo Softcult, released on April 16, 2021, through Easy Life Records.

After the album's release, twin siblings Phoenix and Mercedes Arn-Horn found themselves at crossroads with their record label over the band's creative direction; the Arn-Horn siblings spent the remaining years of Courage My Love's existence writing hundreds of songs to appease their label, which ultimately proved to be fruitless and discouraging.

[3][4] Year of the Rat was written and recorded during most of 2020 at the band's home studio in Kitchener, Ontario.

[1] Both Phoenix and Mercedes Arn-Horn considers Year of the Rat to be less developed than the band's subsequent output.

[10] Mercedes has called the EP's title, which also refers to the zodiac year of the rat, a metaphor for the "rat-race".