White Rabbits Make 'Punk Nihilism Sound Manageable'

White Rabbits’ 2007 effort, Fort Nightly, was an “occasionally very good debut,” but follow-up It’s Frightening, released today, packs a true punch, writes Eric Harvey in Pitchfork. Producer Britt Daniel of Spoon gave the band a leg up, serving as the record’s “songwriting Svengali” to infuse its “urbane pop with the cryptic artiness of Gimme Fiction.” In fact, “casual fans could be excused for confusing [three tracks] with actual Spoon songs.”

“The script might contain plenty of familiar elements,” from “expressionistic, dubby sound effects” to “gloomy, resonant left-hand piano chords,” but “they’re ably, and occasionally superbly, shuffled and recast,” Harvey concludes. The “dark and cavernous” record invokes a “sense of lonesome, luxurious dread”—but despite the occasionally spooked sound, “the guys are still as cocksure as prizefighters,” and they “come out swinging from the opening bell.” (More White Rabbits stories.)