Half Rabbits - From the Horizon to the Map

  by Adrian Huggins

published: 11 / 6 / 2010

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Review

Oxford-based band the Half Rabbits unleash their much anticipated debut album, ‘From the Horizon to the Map’. They have played with such names as the Young Knives, the Enemy, Editors and We Are Scientists, so you might be fairly clear about the sort of sound to expect. Upon closer inspection there is a slightly different story at play. They are much more at home in their sound with the Smashing Pumpkins, Pixies and Joy Division and are a bit edgier than the 'NME’ types that have been their former gig buddies, The Half Rabbits have an intense and heavy, yet somehow gentle sound. On ‘These Rumours’ and ‘Of This City’ they quickly establish their sound. ‘This Changes Everything’ is an obvious stand out track as is ‘In Vulnerability’. Both have bigger choruses and hooks on display than some of the more raucous songs on the album. There are some good moments on here musically, but what lets it down somewhat for me is the vocals of singer Michael Weatherburn. It sounds like he has locked himself in a room with Editors and Joy Division CDs and as a result the damage was done. His singing comes across as forced and does not sound natural and this grated with me a little, mainly because it seemed at such odds with the flow of the rest of the music, which has a much more organic and natural feel to it, in the way that the Pixies, or even Nirvana came out with. You get the impression that live, however, the Half Rabbits would be a force to be reckoned with as the best elements of the band’s sound are the looser ones when you feel like they are just going for it. They are definitely a name to watch in the future. The band’s passion and grit really comes through on this album and I feel that live this would all fit perfectly into place.

Track Listing:-

1 These Rumours
2 Of This City
3 This Changes Everything
4 Stay Positive
5 In Vulnerability
6 How Right You Are
7 Antidote
8 Someone's Coming
9 Magnet Mountain
10 Man Down