Release Date: March 6th, 2012
White Rabbits are curious animals; they seem to be hopping all over the indie-pop map, but the way they’ve gilded their cage since their inception has been an enjoyable, if confusing, experience. They seem to enjoy confounding expectations and covering all the bases at the same time, like an octopus playing Twister or a parrot playing Password. The net result is somehow a smooth, enjoyable listen; it’s almost as if they have arrived at a holistically solid pop product in spite of themselves. Rather than refusing to be pigeon-holed, White Rabbits just avoid the topic entirely and do their thing.
And what an enjoyable thing it is. Despite the winsome and understated tenor vocals, there’s a lot of musical magic going on throughout the third full-length from the Brooklyn, N.Y.-based ensemble. They pick up the dynamic garbage-can accoutrements of their earlier single “Percussion Gun” and intersperse lots of organic and electronic experimental inflections throughout these 11 tracks.
The record kicks off with “Heavy Metal,” which might be an ironic statement, for it’s clearly neither. The only metal that can be heard seems to be the coin-dropping percussion reminiscent of Pink Floyd’s tired “Money.” Thankfully, they live up to that tried dictum of modern poetry to make it new. The vocals make the case for their unique brand of blue-eyed soul, but the music is presented in an experimental fashion, albeit within a conventional framework.
In other words, the sound of White Rabbits is difficult to describe. Imagine Prince fronting The Doors on pep pills and that might not be far from the mark, although on “I’m Not Me,” they sound more like Jeff Lynne’s Electric Light Orchestra than on any of the other tracks.
The acid-drenched “Everyone Can’t Be Confused” showcases their keyboard-heavy talent with 21st century psychedelia, but with such rhythmic intricacy that the cut fairly shakes apart like milk spiraling from a centrifuge.
The song called “Danny Come Inside” oozes sexy charm in such a way that one can’t help but understand what it’s really about, but then again, they convey the same slinky sexiness throughout, so maybe that’s a big clue to where the band’s brain is at. Few animals reproduce as rapidly as rabbits, after all.
After repeated listens, Milk Famous is almost too smooth for its own good—there’s not the grit and bite that can be heard from the Spoon boys (whose Britt Daniel produced their last outing, It’s Frightening), for example, and the lack of tension makes it not as interesting. In the case of White Rabbits, it’s a case of choosing to bubble under constantly where they should be breaking out. The first single, “Temporary,” with its rumbling bassline and angular electric guitar intrusions hint at the potential the group has to blow listeners away when they pull out all the stops, but they never quite take the leap over that ledge.
Still, there hasn’t been a more pleasant sonic surprise in recent memory (not since the last Soviet League record, perhaps), and there’s no doubt that more spins of Milk Famous at full blast and with a headphone on each ear will yield yet more tricks. After all, this release is just the latest magic hat from White Rabbits.
The video for “Heavy Metal” is available here.
White Rabbits – Milk Famous tracklist:
- “Heavy Metal”
- “I’m Not Me”
- “Hold It to the Fire”
- “Everyone Can’t Be Confused”
- “Temporary”
- “Are You Free”
- “It’s Frightening”
- “Danny Come Inside”
- “Back For More”
- “The Day You Won the War”
- “I Had It Coming”
