This post is from Out the Other's 2009 Bonnaroo Artist Previews, where I will be posting previews of all the musical acts playing the 2009 Bonnaroo Music & Arts Festival. Please check out and subscribe to the full site to learn more about all of this year's performers.
I've been so stressed and busy at work lately that I'm not on top of my musical shiz - hence my lack of Out the Other blog love last week for one of my favorite releases of the spring - the new White Rabbits album It's Frightening. Not only have I been hotly anticipating the band's follow-up to 2007's Fort Nightly (which was absolutely one of my favorite releases that year), I just about passed out when I heard that it was being produced by none other than Spoon's Britt Daniel (aka the musical love of Janet's life). And as it turns out, the end result is a record that could have been conjured up in this fangirl's dreams - it's everything I love about Fort Nightly slightly Spoon-ified.
White Rabbits have only been around for a few years - they initially formed at the University of Missouri before relocating to Brooklyn around 2005ish, and their 2007 debut was like a percussive punch out of nowhere - back when it was released I called it "NYC indie rock by way of an all-night calypso party in Morocco." The record simultaneously nailed the catchy pop formula that's always oh-so-welcome to my ears, while twisting and shaking things up with a broad range of influences and more drums than you could shake a maraca at. In March of 2008, I caught the band at SXSW, and while I'll admit a portion of my enthusiasm upon finally seeing them live had a bit to do with the distillery's worth of vodka I had consumed that day, they pretty much blew me away. Which is easy to do when you have two drum kits.
It's Frightening doesn't necessarily have the same punch that Fort Nightly had - it's kinda hard to recapture the impact "Kid on My Shoulders" had the first time I heard it - although "Percussion Gun" comes close. But it's still ten tracks of Britt-blessed, rhythmic and rocking catchy goodness, and it only sounds better the more that I listen. I can't wait to hear what it sounds like live.
White Rabbits play the This Tent on Thursday from 6:45-7:45 p.m.; an excellent reason to get to Bonnaroo early. Check out the full Bonnaroo schedule on the official Bonnaroo website.
