White Rabbits: It's Frightening

Artist: White Rabbits
Album: It's Frightening
Date Released: May 19, 2009
Genre: alt-rock, indie-rock
Rating: 7.2

It's Frightening is the sophomore release from White Rabbits, a sextet featuring two drummers and a piano player. Hailing from Columbus, MO, the White Rabbits refer to their music as "honky tonk calypso" -- a sound that isn't too far removed from other bands like The Walkmen and Spoon. In fact, for It's Frightening, the band recruited Spoon's Britt Daniel to produce.

The end result is undeniably Spoonesque and not nearly as fresh as their beloved debut, Fort Nightly, but it's a solid album nonetheless. The infectious and upbeat rhythms work beautifully with the ever-important White Rabbits piano, but this time around the band has refined their sound by adding the dynamism of improved guitar and vocal arrangements.

It's Frightening may not capture the spontaneity of their debut, but White Rabbits are quickly maturing as a band whose primary focus is in producing expertly arranged and well written songs. Track highlights include "Percussion Gun," "Rudie Fails," "They Done Wrong/We Done Wrong" and the Radiohead inspired "The Salesman (Tramp Life)."