i had a great opportunity come my way a couple weeks ago. under the gun is a great little music blog, and they were looking to hire new writers. so i sent an email their way, not expecting to hear anything back. well imagine my surprise when i actually got a follow up email! so i wrote up a resume and reviewed the EP they sent my way. baby steps, my friends. baby steps that will hopefully help me to move up one teeny tiny step at a time in the vast world that is the music industry.
i can't say i really like the music from a personal point of view, but bad rabbits really are a taleted group, so tried to write from a little bit more of an objective point of view. we'll see if it pays off soon, i guess. but here's what i wrote:
Never judging a book by its cover is the thing to do if you’re a bookworm. But if you’re a part of the ever-growing indie music scene, perhaps the proper saying would be “never judge a band by their album cover”. Well I must admit – I’m one hundred percent guilty. The minute I caught the name of the Boston band Bad Rabbits and their 2009 EP entitled Stick Up Kids, I googled away. And immediately wrote them off as “way too hip-hop” by a mere glance at their album cover. Too harsh? Definitely. Because once you take a listen to this infectious little EP, you’ll be hooked. Not to mention I’m a sucker for clean web design, and their Myspace looks flawless. It’s the little things that count, and Bad Rabbits have lots and lots of little things going for them.
Bad Rabbits are a unique mix of soul, hip-hop and poppy dance music. “Afro punk” are the words used on many of their online sites, and I quite like the new genre name. Because let’s face it, Bad Rabbits cross many genre lines and push lots of envelopes, but that’s precisely why almost everyone with any sense of musical taste will find something they like from this EP. Lead singer Dua Boakye has raw talent and an incredible voice and the stage presence to pull off such a unique sound. The music is high energy and forces you to get up and dance. I can imagine any one of these seven songs to be present in the classic movie scene: high school girl wakes up in the morning, turns on her stereo, grabs the hairbrush and starts belting it out. It makes you tap your feet, it makes you bob your head, and it makes you want to get out to a club and just let loose for the night.
The album is chock full of soulful vocals, soaring synth sounds, and a disco fever vibe that surrounds each and every song. It’s a delightful throwback to 80’s funk and R&B, but with a great pop twist. It’s like Prince with a modern music sensibility. Opener Booties sounds like a modern take on some old school Bobby Brown, while Stick Up Kids breaks it down into a dancy keyboard and guitar duet. Can’t Back Down features killer falsettos and if you aren’t grooving yet, this song will have you shaking your hips for sure. And while a lot of the music is electronic, Auto-Tune haters have nothing to fear. These guys have real talent and are really quite innovative. All the keyboard sounds you hear on the record are in reality guitars passed through a pedalboard. Pretty badass if you ask me.
If the seven unstoppable songs aren’t enough on their own, Bad Rabbits have a lot of other things going for them as well. A shout out from Travis McCoy (Gym Class Heroes) in front of hundreds at Warped Tour is sure to gain respect, not to mention he’s featured on the fifth song Girl I’m Like Damn!, and their clothing sponsor Karmaloop.com is confident that they will be the next big thing to come from Boston. If you want some good and funky fun, and need a bit of 80’s nostalgia, check out Bad Rabbits. Their new EP will definitely lead them to great places.
Decent write up, except all the keyboard parts are actually keyboards, sometimes played on stage by a keyboardist (though new keyboardist is a listed member of the band).
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