by Jim Kelly

Who: Local Rabbits
What: Sophisticated, melodic indie rock
Where: Montréal/Toronto
To Contact: Dennis Stewart, Brobdingnagian Records, (902) 425-9669, brobdingnagian@hfx.eastlink.ca

Montréal’s Local Rabbits aren’t so local anymore. The band’s two guitarists/songwriters Peter Elkas and Ben Gunning have moved to Toronto, while the rhythm section - bassist Ryan Myshrall and drummer Jason Tustin (who also double-shift in the band Soft Canyon) - resides in Montréal. But if their third release This Is It Here We Go is any indication, they’re not letting the Two Solitudes situation put a damper on their creativity. Recorded at the Gas Station in Toronto with co-owner Don Kerr (Rheostatics, Ron Sexsmith) behind the board, the record is a smart and savvy salvo of indie rock adventurism. With Gunning’s keen melodic sense and Elkas’ instrumental versatility, they forge a straight-up guitar rock sound, a la Joel Plaskett/Thrush Hermit or Sloan, but with elements of prog rock adding some sophistication. Perhaps Elkas’ no-frills description of their genre-dodging sound works best: “It’s rock with two guitars, bass and drums and keyboards and two songwriters. There’s a focus on lyrics and instrumentation. And all our gear is ’70s gear.” And while he acknowledges the ’70s influence, Elkas adds that they’re “Always trying to be progressive at the same time and push some sort of boundary.” Highlights include Gunning’s elastic vocals on “At Least You Got The Cake” and “The Lights Turn On”, Elkas’ soulful “Poured All That I Got” and their nod to Steely Dan on “Pass It To You”. Though their bi-local existence makes the Rabbits a cottontail of two cities, like their furry namesakes, when it comes to creativity, they’ve got a jump on all the rest.

This entry was posted on Sunday, November 3rd, 2002 at 3:47 pm and is filed under Showcase. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.