Review | Speedy Ortiz – Rabbit Rabbit

Philadelphia rock outfit Speedy Ortiz have released their new album ‘Rabbit Rabbit‘ via Wax Nine, the first record to come from the band in over five years. 

The album was co-produced by Illuminati Hotties’ Sarah Tudzin, mastered by Emily Lazar and Chris Allgood at The Lodge in New York and was recorded between Rancho de la Luna in Joshua Tree and Sonic Ranch in Tornillo. 

Speedy Ortiz say about the album: “Rabbit Rabbit is a nod to the superstitious incantation repeated on the first of each month to bring good fortune. Dupuis adopted this practice as a child coping with OCD and early trauma, so when she began to parse difficult memories for the first time in her songwriting, it felt like kismet to name her band’s fourth record after that expression of luck and repetition.”

The band explores the theme of repetition by questioning conventions and interrogating cycles of power on ‘Rabbit Rabbit‘. Full of energetic riffs, explorative lyrics, and strummy guitars, the record manages to capture those serious themes while also leaving room for more lighthearted listening.

Speedy Ortiz say a lot of their lyrics have been inspired by literature like “workplace apocalypses, magical realist family dramas and artists’ biographies”. Particularly on songs such as ‘Cry Cry Cry‘, this ambition really shines through, with lyrics such as “Three ways to cry, and one is silence/He couldn’t see tears have meaning/A red flower caught in a crosswind it can’t withstand“. This song musically might not be the strongest of the album, but shines lyrically in its surrealism and poetic imagery.

Other songs such as ‘Who’s Afraid of the Bath‘ tell entire stories, while incorporating long guitar solos without losing focus on the vocals. Meanwhile, ‘Kitty‘ is an almost creepy song about bad dreams, which goes hand in hand with the ghostly instrumentals.

The band’s ambitious attitude doesn’t only apply to the lyrics – the group recorded the album on about 50 guitars, through over 100 effects pedals and 30 different amps. The result is a record that offers a wide range of ideas as well as a diverse sound.