White Rabbits - Percussion Gun

perfect for magic tricks

It's about time to just go back to some good old-fashioned song-postin' fun. "Percussion Gun" by White Rabbits is something that combines a lot of different styles and a few different sounds that I'm a huge fan of. Much of my indie listening is influenced by what I liked early on tuning in to Indie 103.1, a station around Orange County, California that conveniently pops up on iTunes Radio.

"Percussion Gun" to me screams the kind of indie that station plays cuts of, and even more specifically, it has the local feel of the LA-alt-rock scene: a sound mined by the likes of the Smashing Pumpkins, Silversun Pickups, and even lesser-known groups like Darker My Love. When I heard "Percussion Gun" a few weeks ago, it sounded familiar. Now, I don't know if it's the fact I'd heard it on Indie 103.1 before, or if its LA-centric sound was just that strong.  However, the singer's voice echoes the impassioned and throaty shouts of groups like The Walkmen and The Rapture, groups more associated with the New York scene. Either way, there's a darkish tone to the song that doesn't really get fleshed out - and to pleasing results.

White Rabbits - Percussion Gun

The track could've been a sombre stroll through melancholy, but the steady strum of the bass, the gaudy piano stabs, and the glintzy guitar work jazz up your regular kiss-off tune. Add in the slightest sliver of a backing choir, and "Percussion Gun" really has everything going for it, as well as going on in it. But above all, it's the lead singer's delivery that really grabs the spotlight; he's standoffish without being specifically mean-spirited - even starting the song off with "Feel Good Inc."-reminiscent laughter - and the strains of "and iiiiiiii know/which way you run, you're a child my love/I feel the same" bely a sense of empathy for whomever the track's directed at.

There's a lot going on in this song, and multiple listens only help to understand and appreciate one of the better tunes this year.