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.”