French For Rabbits
5th May 2024
Meow, Wellington, New Zealand.
Review and photography by Tim Gruar.
It seemed an age ago when I was invited to a listening party for ‘The Overflow’ album, recorded at Lee Prebble’s Surgery Studios in Newtown during Covid. And at the time, we were promised that French For Rabbits would tour it. Eventually the album did see some stage time, but somehow the gods conspired to keep me and my ears away. So, tonight was a happy reunion, for me, at least.
I’d realised that French for Rabbits have been in my ears for many years now. Formed back in 2012 by Brooke Singer (vocals, keys) and John Fitzgerald (guitars) at Waikuku Beach, their gentle, sometimes haunting, sometimes unsettling folk sound seemed to echo the bush, the sea and the winds of that place. Singer’s coquettish voice has its own special siren sound, alluring, playful but often concealing dark, cutting, serious secrets.
Tonight, at Meow we got to indulge in this brooding, affecting music. On wax these songs are as lush, indulgent and widescreen as possible. They remain so live, as I witnessed tonight.
Fittingly, Singer tells us later, it was this very bar that she began her musical career – “I was reminiscing with Ebony Lamb. I stood on the stage, in the corner, over there (pointing). I was deathly nervous, still am.”
Opening in washes of dark vermilion and clouds of swirling dry ice, the band sneak on, alongside a quartet (identified only as Alex, Selina and Nick) led by Elliot Vaughan. Their contribution tonight will be a series of gorgeous washes, like a blanket of sound, punctuated by short interludes of individual strings from the violins.
They begin with achingly beautiful track ‘The Weight Of Snow’, bolstered by mournful groans from a melancholic cello. That’s followed by the slightly more upbeat ‘Dark Arts’ from ‘The Overflow’ album. From there it’s a programme of two sides, with tracks from the new e.p on show.
In the intimacy of a small room like Meow the first from the e.p. is ‘Baring Head’. It feels somehow closer, yet lighter than the cinematic wilderness of the recorded version. Singer says she wrote the song on Wellington’s South Coast, remembering camping trips with a friend at the point, pillows blown asunder by wild winds. The song considers the value of art (particularly poignant in these austere days) and references the windswept lighthouse of its namesake. It’s simply gorgeous.
Apparently, the e.p.’s title track ‘In The End I Wont Be Coming Home’ is about a journey across the Atlantic, and not necessarily a straight forward break up. But I adore the theatrics of this live number, as I close my eyes and become sucked into the delicate drama. Singer’s fragile voice somehow adds weight to the convictions of her lyrics. You feel she’s really serious about her message. The band and the quartet simply wrap the sounds around her is support.
The majority of these songs are slow, indulgent, brooding. Except ‘Leech’, inspired by an overdose of Enya, Singer announced. Perhaps she’s hoping an endless choir will suddenly appear to provide a barrage of infinite vocal backing reverberations. The ‘heart is a leech’, say the lyrics, seems like a betrayal but it could be just self-analysis. I love the way these lyrics remain ambiguous.
Singer has said that she wrote these songs with the intention of performing them live with a string section. It was evident tonight how well that worked. Somehow a simple keyboard option will be a bit of a letdown, compared to the quartet treatment.
The stark ‘Keep’, the only ‘strings-free’ track on the e.p. is another deep track, the narrator plagued by a guilty secret builds to a haunting conclusion before a short break.
When we return, Singer springs a new one on us – a work in progress. Although it seems pretty complete to these ears. ‘Funny Feelings’ is lively and complex, allowing Hikurangi’s drums to shine. It’s the only time Fitzgerald stays away. The gentle twangs of his guitar are integral to the French For Rabbits sound and seem oddly absent.
Side two also has a few old fav’s – ‘Goat’, introduced with some whimsy and fancy from Singer about the true nature of these animals. “I do like goats,” she ponders, “Smart but sometimes evil.”
One of the band’s most outstanding numbers is ‘The Overflow’ about controlling anxiety. With the strings backing, this is a superb rendition, really engaging, drawing you into the moment.
A lesser known one, the lilting ‘Feathers and Dreams’, written, we find out during the last Gaza conflict over ten years ago.
The magnificent ‘Otherside’ rounds off the set, followed by an equally stunning version of ‘Days Shift’. “In the best tradition of a French For Rabbits show, we finish with a sad song. But the strings are really beautiful.” They really were. I had goose pimples all over.
I’m glad I saw French For Rabbits on this sporadic four plus date national gig tour. With Brooke Singer hapu (congratulations by the way), they may be quiet for some time. It was also announced earlier this month that this would be founding memeber John Fitzgerald’s last show. Singer wrote “His understated guitar playing has been the backbone of the rabbits sound since the start – we reckon he plays like no one else…We’ll all be friends for life.” The man who barely moves on stage but adds so much colour and texture to these songs will be conspicuously absent both on future recordings and performances. We in the audience will greatly miss him.
It’s been a while since I’ve seen this band and yet they improve every time. The songs are stronger, compelling. And with a quartet in tow, even better. Always the quiet over achievers, they gave us the perfect early Sunday night outing. Their music is still haunting my brain. And like others around me, I headed out into the chilly autumn air wanting more.
Were you there at Meow for this beautiful folk gig? Or have you seen French For Rabbits perform live some other time? Tell us about it in the comments below!
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