Misty-voiced and deeply reverbed, New Zealand dream folk duo
French for Rabbits make their full-length debut with
Spirits, a ten-song set that evokes the windswept coasts of their native Waikuku Beach on the country's South Island. Now based in Wellington, the band made a splash in 2012 with their six-song EP Claimed by the Sea which, though sparer in production and arrangement, set the tone for their pensive, introspective style. With
Spirits, they've elaborated on their initial foundation which is built around singer/songwriter Brooke Singer's airy voice and John Fitzgerald's delicate guitar work. Lush strings, piano, bass, and drums augment the duo's core sound which now drifts into orchestrated and often dramatic pop that manages to feel comforting and lonesome all at once. Songs like "Woke Up to a Storm" and "Lean" fall deliciously somewhere between
Brian Wilson-esque "Surf's Up" chamber pop and
Sandy Denny's warm, early-'70s British folk. It's a style not dissimilar to fellow acoustic Kiwi act
Tiny Ruins, who turned in their own British folk-inspired effort earlier in 2014, but where
Tiny Ruins seemed to be studiously following
Vashti Bunyan's lonesome caravan,
French for Rabbits still have the feeling of being rooted somewhere in the indie pop landscape. Perhaps it's the distant echo of a smile somewhere in Singer's voice of some the jazz inflections in Fitzgerald's guitar playing, but their sound is decidedly wistful rather than haunted and this comes across in the gentle bounce of "Gone Gone Gone" and the lovely, waltzing "Nursery Rhymes." It's the sound of a strong cup of tea, a favorite sweater, and the delight of window gazing on a gray autumn day. [
Spirits was also released on LP.] ~ Timothy Monger