As part of my work for esteemed organisations such as Vents, I’ve been very lucky to see a lot of up and coming bands over the last few years, most of whom I’ve had some prior knowledge of. One ’new’ band I knew nothing of before catching them live though was the Dirty Little Rabbits.
Formed in Iowa in 2007, DLR are often referred to as Shawn Crahan’s other band. Whilst its fair to say that Shawn will be best known for his work as ‘Clown’ with the metal behemoth that is Slipknot, to dismiss DLR as just another side project would be to do them a huge disservice.
Prior to the release of their self titled debut album, the band released two EP’s: The independently released ‘Breeding’ in 2007 and the more widely available ‘Simon’ in 2009. Having more or less worn out my copy of ‘Simon’, I was eager to get hold of the new album to see if it would live up to expectations…….
As expected, with the release of the album coming so soon after the release of ‘Simon’, a number of the songs from the EP are present on the album. However, it would appear that a number have either been re-recorded or remixed slightly as there are evident, if subtle differences between the EP and album versions of the songs.
The record kicks off with ‘Simon’ (ironically a track not on the Simon EP). It’s a track which sets the scene for the rest of the album. With Stella Katsoudas’s slightly manic and very Kate Bush like vocals floating over the vaguely ’circus burlesque’ sound of the band, its immediately clear that the album is something quite unique.
‘You Say’ follows on and as with ‘Simon’, its Mike Pfaff’s keyboards that really anchor the band’s sound. Indeed it seems like the main riffs of the songs are hammered out on the keyboards, with Ryan Martin’s guitars embellishing the songs throughout.
However, as if to immediately disprove this assertion, ‘Put it in the Rock’ has a little more of a straight forward rock sound, with the guitars far more evident than on any other song of the album.
My two favourite songs from the ‘Simon’ EP then follow. ‘Hello’ and ‘Happy’ are two stunning songs that deserve to be listened to endlessly….. ‘Hello’s’ chorus is simply a joy.
The band then throw in a slight curveball in the form of ‘I Love You’. I hesitate to use the word ‘Disco’ in any review as it conjures up images of John Travolta and tight trousers (sorry) but I really could see this song being a real dance floor filler…… its what Moloko could have sounded like had they been at all cool……
The highlight of the album for me though is the truly staggering ‘Professional Hit’… a song that sees Stella’s vocal performance range from bipolar Californian ‘it’ girl, through jilted and tortured lover to delectable diva. The song in places is truly maniacal, constantly engrossing and utterly fascinating. The energy generated by the song is very palpable…..
Following ‘Professional Hit‘, both on the album and in my affections, is the utterly sublime ‘if’. I cant really describe how this song makes me feel, suffice to say that it is the exact polar opposite of ‘Professional Hit’. It’s a delicate, beautiful and somewhat haunting song that I can’t stop listening to.
From this point on, the album does seem to tail off a little, perhaps unsurprising when you consider the heights that have been reached previously. ‘Leave Me Alone’ and ‘The Didn’ts’ follow in a similar vein to the album’s opening songs, before the record closes with ‘Rabbit Holes’.
Having read this review, it really should come as no surprise to anyone when I say that I really believe this is the best album I’ll hear this year, and possible for a good while after that.
If you want to listen to something a little different… maybe step out of the comfort zone that most of us get into when becoming cosy with a particular musical genre, you will have to search long and hard to find a more rewarding, creatively inspiring and fascinating recording than this. Its definitely not a record that will please everyone, but I truly suggest you give it a go….. You never know… you might just like it……
Genius: 5 / 5
http://www.myspace.com/dirtylittlerabbits
Many thanks to Stella and Shawn for their time and friendliness, and to Amy from The End for all her help….
