Disco de White Rabbits: “It's Frightening”

Damn that "Percussion Gun"! It's easily the catchiest song I've heard so far this year, and after the band's killer performance on Letterman the day before the album's release, this song has cemented itself into my brain. What a great way to open an album - with a pounding duet of tribal drumming. The whole set is propelled by standout percussion and piano, tempered with fine emotive vocals and harmony, and smart songwriting. Britt Daniel produced this, and his fingerprints are all over it, which is fine with this Spoon fan. There are definitely some similarities between the two bands; you might also be reminded a bit of Modest Mouse. Their excellent debut, "Fort Nightly", got some critical acclaim but otherwise little attention - maybe this new album will earn a better and more deserving fate. (I wonder if the title is a swipe at the similarly-named Scottish band Frightened Rabbit.) Besides the aforementioned lead track, listen to "Rudie Falls", "They Done Wrong/We Done Wrong", and "The Lady Vanishes". This is an early candidate for one of the best albums of the year.

White Rabbits often gets compared to Spoon, and for good reason. Their second album, IT'S FRIGHTENING was produced by Spoon frontman Britt Daniel. IT'S FRIGHTENING sounds a lot like GIRL CAN TELL-era Spoon; you'll find prominent percussion, minimal guitar/bass, and vocals. The band does not often stray from this sound, but this album is diverse enough that no two tracks sound the same. The biggest problem with this album is that it never quite lifts itself out of the shadow of Spoon and Britt Daniel. Their next album, MILK FAMOUS would find them exploring different musical-territory however.

Opening track "Percussion Gun" starts the album off with its best foot forward. "Percussion Gun" is a risky song -- it often relies solely on its drums, providing not much guitar or bass to round things out. This proves to be a boon for the song, but the band never quite lives up to this sort of confidence. Fortunately though, the remaining 9 songs are quite good, even though they never reach the same potential that the album promises from its start. IT'S FRIGHTENING never quite received the attention or praise it deserved; I think this is because the album can't help but go downhill after "Percussion Gun." Keep this in mind when you listen to the album. There's plenty of good tunes here.

Fans of Spoon, Radiohead (THE BENDS era), or The Pixies will find plenty to enjoy here. For fans of the aforementioned bands, this release will be pleasantly surprising. For rabid fans of Spoon, this album should tide you over until their next album. Recommended highlights to sample: "Percussion Gun," "They Done Wrong/We Done Wrong," and "The Salesman (Tramp Life)."

This is a great album if you already like a couple of White Rabbits songs. In my opinion, the sound quality from Amazon MP3s are better than iTunes. Once you download the Amazon MP3 manager, the songs download, then iTunes program on my computer automatically recognizes the new downloads and then all that's left to do is sync the songs to my iPod. Download this album now!

I thought they could have been more original with the band's name. Loved the "percussion gun" song, so I bought the album. Positive surprise, these guys have really made a fantastic masterpiece. Stylish sound, good lyrics, awesome songs. You may feel the influence of Spoon, Franz Ferdinand, Radiohead ... and still it sounds pretty original. And the band's name doesen't really matter to me now ... In a time where "alt indie" is so shifted towards soft folk ballads and lack of originality, White Rabbits have made it with an outstanding album. Great job!

It is a bit derivative of Spoon, but I think a lot of that comes from the production nametag. I first experienced them opening for The Walkmen, and that alone made me compare them more to that band. This is an improvement on their debut, and the only reason it did not get five stars is due to the fact that they sound so much better live, and still cannot seem to get the energy of their shows into a more polished form. The songs are written well, and is a bit more focused, which may be due to more maturity in songwriting or may be because of Brit's presense. I'd call it a top ten album in a very competitive year.