Moon Rabbits - Moon Rabbits

Moon Rabbits

Moon Rabbits
self-released; 2014

3.6 out of 5

By Jamie Robash

Moon Rabbits is a duo out of Davison, MI consisting of Brandon Hitts and Christopher Allen. The pair play rock n’ roll that ranges in style from alternative ‘90s college rock like Pavement to cleaner versions of that era’s grunge bands. There are also tunes, which recall echoes of Death Cab and from time to time Moon Rabbits even weave in bits of shoegaze.

Brandon Hitts and Christopher Allen began writing and recording together under the name Moon Rabbits in 2015, using the band as a creative outlet to deal with the pitfalls and heartbreaks of everyday life that so many people use things like booze and pills to cure.

Their self-titled EP Moon Rabbits opens with the somnolent “Placebo Somno” an introspective ballad of sorts. A clean and slowly strummed electric guitar seems to hint that it may break out and rock at any moment, though it never does, although we find out why once the hushed vocals, lamenting a painful breakup that is still obviously on the mind of the singer, begin. Not to worry though as “Etmology” does an awesome job of rocking in the vein of ‘90s lovelorn stomp rockers Superchunk. This energy continues on the guitar rock onslaught of “Mimic” which also continues on into the grunge-addled fugue of “Strange Love.” Moon Rabbits close their five-song EP as sleepily and sadly as they opened it with the obvious Death Cab ode “Everything To Be Seen” with its stripped down instruments and a cappella ooh’s.

With Moon Rabbits EP Brandon Hitts and Christopher Allen have created something that speaks to them, that has perhaps helped them deal with past emotions in way that is much more constructive than turning to the aforementioned hard drugs. They’ve also proved themselves to be good practitioners of their craft; the recording in and of itself sounds very good and there is no question they know how to play their instruments.

However the problem lies in variety. Surely these songs evoke for me, and perhaps others, certain sentiments found on albums by the bands mentioned, but those are only momentary. The songs sometimes lack an emotional anchor. I’m not talking about heartbroken emotion, I’m talking about emotion that comes from somewhere inside, that just clicks at a certain point and pours out on its own. I’ve no doubts that this pair will eventually get there; they just aren’t there yet.

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