A couple of years ago, when their first album hit New York, a bunch of my friends got really into the White Rabbits. Like, really. I enjoyed their live show the two or three times I saw them open for other bands, but I just never got around to picking up their CD. Now they've got a new release, It's Frightening, and the whole thing is available to stream on their MySpace. Let's give it a whirl.
1. Percussion Gun: This is a fitting song title/single/album starter from an album whose most prominent feature is their dual drummers. This is stripped down, for them. The same slightly bluesy rock feel, but with a very sharp precision in the spare drum parts. The other elements, guitar, handclaps, backup singing, it's all used in turn, not all at once. It's very unusual, not at all the sort of standard indie rock fare that you get in singles. I'm already keen to know if this is the most M.O.R. song on the album, or if they were being contrary in their single selection.
2. Rudie Fails: I'm the kind of music geek who appreciates the reference in the title to the Clash's classic "Rudie Can't Fail." This maintains the sparseness of the first track. There's very similar cascading lines to the background chorus and the really simple rhythms in the drums. But it oddly feels like an introduction, still, not like a song you could get behind. There's not really a melody you could hum.
3. They Done Wrong/We Done Wrong: This is more of a traditional song. It's got a bouncy beat, but a dark, fuzzy overtone. The vocals sound in danger of being lost in the circle of rhythm instruments. The beat line simple enough to turn into a mantra, a background buzz, is clearly going to be a theme on this album. Hmm, and the bridge is vaguely avant-garde piano. White Rabbits have clearly told traditional song structure to suck it.
4. Lionesse: It's becoming hard to say interesting things about these songs. They're good, but similar. Dual, spare, repetitive drums and cascading vocals.
5. Company I Keep: This is quieter, their version of a ballad. There is a tambourine. This whole thing sounds very Spoon-esque.
6. The Salesman (Tramp Life): The keys and drums opening reminds me very much of late-period Radiohead. And then everything drops out and it's back to the modular approach, just vocals and drums and bass.
7. Midnight and I: They're at the other end of the piano now, dark and brooding. I think I like this one best. It's layered, the silences are used for effect and the guitars come out to play. It's spooky. It's crying out for one of those videos that's based on "The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari" or something. Just when it starts to get repetitive, the effects pedals turn on and they get another 20 seconds of mileage out of the riff.
8. Right Where They Left: The trouble, I think, is that the riffs are great for the first sixty seconds. They're toe-tappers. And then the second sixty seconds is just like the first. The choruses fade into the verses and so it's not that sense of coming back to something you know. It's one long phrase.
9. The Lady Vanishes: I'm gonna be honest with you; MySpace is being weird and sometimes cuts me off mid-song. I can go back and reset the little progress bar, but I'm just not inclined to anymore. The songs don't have me hooked.
10. Leave It At the Door: Hah. I just noticed that this was produced by Britt Daniel, frontman of Spoon. Explains some things.
The Verdict: It was an interesting experience, but I doubt I'll listen to it again. It won't call to me when I'm looking to dance or rock out or any of those things. But if I ever get the urge to create experimental art...
Comments