Before I even begin to go in depth about Year of the Rabbit's major-label debut I want to get one thing clear. I find it unfair to make comparisons and set standards to bands based upon their involvements in previous efforts. Yet, it happens all the time, most recently with The Fire Theft and their past as Sunny Day Real Estate. So for those that have listened to Failure, On, or any other Ken Andrew project prior to this moment, please just erase that from your memory and enjoy Year of the Rabbit for what they are, an exceptional pop influenced rock group.
After writing and releasing the promising Hunted EP by himself in 2002, Ken Andrew enlisted the help of former Shiner drummer Tim Dow and distinguished Chicago musicians, guitarist Jeff Garber and bassist Solomon Snyder, whom both have impressive résumés. The album opens with the re-recorded "Rabbit Hole," a pop-rock anthem with fun lyrics that combines the best aspects of Failure and On with the mainstream appeal of The Foo Fighters. Further investigation of the album reveals Andrews and company taking the bulk of their song structure influence from Magnified era Failure and adding upbeat pop elements. The drumming of Dow is very proficient and his chemistry with Andrews is fantastic, most likely due to his work with Andrews as touring drummer for On. The album is loaded with excellent fills, but not becoming overbearing enough to drone out the guitar work or the vocals. While Andrews' typical rhythm guitar provides a nice background feel, Garber's spiraling guitars on tracks like "Absent Stars" and "Vaporize" further add to the body of the songs. With Andrews handling the main vocal duties, there is plenty of structure lyrically with well planned verses as the others provide background vocals to catchy hooks that are incorrigible as demonstrated on "Hunted" and "Say Goodbye." With one final trick up their sleeves, Andrews and company show they aren't going to be pigeon-toed as a rock band as they added the beautiful acoustic passage "Hold Me Up."
Once people get past the fact that Year of the Rabbit isn't Failure, but a separate entity unto itself, they will be able to see the vision that this project was intended to be - modern alternative rock with pop tendencies. And for those who are still not persuaded, I shall leave you with this question: If Ken Andrews wanted this to be an extension of Failure, don't you think he would have kept the namesake?
