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At first, it's easy to mistake the
White Rabbits for just another set of New York City dance-rock hipsters in the
Clap Your Hands Say Yeah tradition, but a second look reveals a quirkier and more rewarding aesthetic. A sextet featuring two drummers and a piano player, the
White Rabbits refer to their music as "honky tonk calypso," and their cheerful blend of calypso, reggae and ska rhythms, plus secondhand music hall influences and big pop hooks, strongly recalls vintage
Madness circa "Our House" and the moodier, more experimental side of
the Specials and
Fun Boy Three, via
Ted Leo & the Pharmacists. The
White Rabbits began in Columbia, MO, in 2004, when college students
Greg Roberts and Stephen Patterson bonded while working at a local record store. Moving to New York in 2005,
Roberts (vocals and guitar) and Patterson (vocals, piano and percussion) fleshed out the
White Rabbits with guitarist
Alex Even, bassist
Adam Russell and dual drummers Matt Clark and
Jamie Levinson. Signing with Say Hey Records in the U.S. and Young Turks Records in Great Britain, the
White Rabbits connected with hot New York indie producer
Chris Zane (
Asobi Seksu,
Les Savy Fav) to record their debut album Fort Nightly. Preceded by the dramatic first single "The Plot," Fort Nightly was released in the summer of 2007. For their second album, the band teamed up with
Spoon's
Britt Daniel as producer; after recording in early 2009,
It's Frightening was released that spring. White Rabbits worked with frequent
Spoon collaborator Mike McCarthy on 2012's Milk Famous, who helped the band take its sound in a darker, heavier direction. ~ Stewart Mason