[PDX SLUDGE] Scan the liner notes of local metal outfit Rabbits’ new record,
Lower Forms, and you’ll find a surprising note:
Lower Forms
was recorded at Type Foundry studios. For the uninitiated, this is
somewhat of a shock: as Type Foundry (run by Norfolk & Western’s
Adam Selzer) is Portland’s premier haven for all things folk rock, and
Rabbits’ heavy, low-end thwack is about as far from cute and cuddly as
humanly possible. Still, a few spins of the record immediately quell any
suspicion the band has gone soft.
Despite Rabbits’
name, its music is loud and punishing, and Type Foundry (plus producers
Jeremy Romagna and Lauren K. Newman, a.k.a. LKN) acts as a perfect foil
to the band’s intensity. Lower Forms is a metal-punk record of
the highest fidelity: The whole thing is mixed clean and to the front,
so you can hear every tumbling drum fill and monstrous, slow riff. It’s a
step up from the band’s early 12-inches and split singles, and it
rivals seeing one of its ear-splitting live shows.
It also succeeds in
establishing one mood, an overwhelming sense of dread that’s not the
type of thing every music fan can get behind. All 10 tracks on the album
are steeped in the same thick grime and molten rhythms, and grounded by
singer Josh Hughes’ howling growl. But a few songs stand out, including
opener “Burn, Sun, Burn” and “Invisibugs,” which plods along with a
quick stop-and-start beat and a particularly heavy bit of guitar
feedback. Along with Red Fang, Rabbits is redefining how Portland hard
rock bands should sound and act. So, who’s recording at Type Foundry next?
SEE IT: Water & Bodies plays Friday, Feb. 18,
at the Doug Fir, with Archeology, the Dimes and UHF. 9 pm. $5. 21+.
Rabbits plays Saturday, Feb. 19, at Branx, with YOB and Norska. 9 pm.
$10 advance, $13 day of show. All ages.
