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French For Rabbits - EP Review: In The End I Won't Be Coming Home

28 Nov 2023 // A review by Catherine Bullock
French For Rabbits have done it again with their 4-track EP, In The End I Won’t Be Coming Home. This chamber dream indie pop EP is not to be missed. It's entrancing, enhanced by experimental sound design, haunting vocals, and a wide breadth of instruments and sounds including string arrangements by Elliot Vaughan.


The EP opens with the title track, which is my personal favourite. The production is intricately layered but feels quiet and mellow. It is the perfect balance of complex accompaniment floating overtop Brooke Singer’s trademark unique vocals.

The next two songs Baring Head and Leech showcase the string arrangements from the very beginning, and the sound fits right at home with the sound of the band.

Keep is a fantastic closer to the EP, with a wonderful sonic development all throughout. The vocals in the introduction are mixed dramatically differently to the other songs in the EP which made me hold my breath in anticipation, to hear the lyrics, and to see where the song would develop.

I also really loved the lyrics of this album. While this EP is marketed as thematically being about returning to the isolated windswept coastlines, there is a real sense of personal criticism wondering about “all the promises I can’t keep” repeated on loop in Keep, having to be “left with all of my thoughts” as well as the notion of letting people down in Leech.

This is an awesome EP that really adds to the French For Rabbits discography, and I highly recommend giving it a good listen!

 

About French For Rabbits

Hailing from New Zealand, haunting dream-folk duo French For Rabbits have been quietly building a reputation for their sad yet brave songs. Since releasing their debut EP Claimed By The Sea in March 2012, they have gathered a dedicated fan-base around the globe with handwritten letters and home-assembled albums.

The authenticity of their songs and their engaging live shows has resulted in student radio play in New Zealand, support in the UK from BBC 6 presenters Gideon Coe, Tom Ravenscroft and The Shed’s Mark Coles, and a nomination for Best Folk Album of 2013 for the New Zealand music awards. They have also received funding from NZ On Air for a single and video due out later this year.

Brooke Singer, who is the fragile voiced songstress and writer for the duo, began performing with guitarist John Fitzgerald in 2011. Determined to overcome an acute fear of singing in public, the pair shifted to Wellington from their hometown of Christchurch and set about tentatively performing at an intimate open mic at a local café. They have since toured nationally in New Zealand, and played alongside the likes of Jess Chambers, Darren Hanlon and Tiny Ruins.

Visit the muzic.net.nz Profile for French For Rabbits

Releases

The Overflow
Year: 2021
Type: Album
The Weight of Melted Snow
Year: 2019
Type: Album
Buy Online @ Mightyape
Spirits
Year: 2014
Type: Album
Buy Online @ Mightyape
Claimed By The Sea
Year: 2012
Type: EP

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