Shipwreck’s third full-length album is sure to please long time fans and newcomers alike. This four-piece band hails from Champaign, IL and consists of co-songwriters, guitarists, and vocalists Harman Jordan, John Owen, bassist Vladmir Brilliant, and drummer Christopher Waage. The styles of their former albums carry over to Rabbit in the Kitchen and their country alt rock dynamic is accented by subaquatic punk tones. As the band’s name suggests, the lyrics contain riveting metaphors that invoke images of the open sea and cascading guitar riffs that rise and fall like the waves on the ocean. Each of these tones is complemented by a methodic but experimental rhythm section. As the album starts to spin, the two opening tracks “Walk in the Woods and “Rabbit in the Kitchen” paint a haunting but energetic picture. As the album continues to spin, the gears shift into the fourth track “Devils” which features an atmospheric tone accompanied by rhythmic hooks and an energetic chorus. The next four songs represent the only soft spot on the album. While still fine examples of musicianship, these songs lack any real soul or direction. This lack of direction comes to a screeching halt on the album’s eighth and arguably best track “Black Moon” which is laden with elaborate and cosmic guitar riffs, despairing vocals, and hypnotizing beats. These vibes continue as the album reaches its fitting conclusion in a number titled “Atlantic.” This song releases an image of a sunset on the open sea.
Rabbit in the Kitchen highlights Shipwreck’s strengths, which are numerous, and their weaknesses, which are few and far between.
