White Rabbits

What might initially seem like one more cluster of New York City dance-rock enthusiasts in the vein of Clap Your Hands Say Yeah turns out, on closer inspection, to reflect a more idiosyncratic and satisfying sensibility. This six-piece lineup, built around a pair of drummers and a pianist, describes its own sound as "honky tonk calypso." The result fuses upbeat calypso, reggae, and ska rhythms with borrowed music-hall touches and strong pop melodies, bringing to mind the classic Madness era that produced "Our House" as well as the darker, more exploratory work of the Specials and Fun Boy Three, filtered through Ted Leo & the Pharmacists. The White Rabbits formed in Columbia, MO, in 2004 after college classmates Greg Roberts and Stephen Patterson met while employed at a neighborhood record shop. Relocating to New York in 2005, Roberts on vocals and guitar alongside Patterson on vocals, piano, and percussion completed the group by adding guitarist Alex Even, bassist Adam Russell, and drummers Matt Clark and Jamie Levinson. After signing with Say Hey Records in the U.S. and Young Turks Records in Great Britain, the band enlisted rising New York indie producer Chris Zane, known for work with Asobi Seksu and Les Savy Fav, to capture their debut album Fort Nightly. That record arrived in summer 2007, following the release of its striking lead single "The Plot." For the follow-up, the White Rabbits enlisted Spoon's Britt Daniel to produce; sessions took place in early 2009, and It's Frightening appeared later that spring. The band then collaborated with frequent Spoon associate Mike McCarthy on 2012's Milk Famous, resulting in a noticeably darker and weightier sonic direction.