DFTD’s Favorite Albums of 2009: The White Rabbits’ It’s Frightening
Regardless of how you feel about what’s become of the music industry during the 2000’s, it’s clear that the Internet has forever changed the way music is discovered, marketed and obtained. And although it’s a phenomena that’s as old as the industry, The Curse of the Sophomore Album is one that is able to thrive in this brave new world of MySpace, Rapidshare, and YouTube where new bands are discovered and beloved as quickly as they are dismissed and forgotten.
Fortunately (and perhaps rather miraculously), The White Rabbits have managed to defy the odds with It’s Frightening, a sophomore effort that’s not only better, but also more commercially successful and critically acclaimed than their debut. (Of course, it never hurts when Spoon’s Britt Daniel signs on to produce.)
With It’s Frightening, The White Rabbits have (with considerable help from Daniel) tightened up and focused their sound - wisely leaving behind their former world music influences to focus instead on creating kick-ass rock music. The pulsing and infectious “Percussion Gun” is one of the strongest opening songs of any album to come out this year, and it paves the way for the pounding pianos and dueling drums that are the core of the album’s sound.
And although Daniel’s influences are quite obvious, especially during “They Done Wrong/We Done Wrong” and “The Salesman (Tramp Life)” which easily could have been Spoon songs, the sound here still manages to be authentic and all their own. It’s Frightening is a thumping, slightly spooky and wholly raucous good time that’ll leave you pounding your feet while you pick up any available tool to use as a drumstick.
