Sounds Like:  A three part blitz.

Has it really been five years since the last Speedy Ortiz album?! Really?!  I mean, we did get the excellent Sad13 “Haunted Painting” album in 2020, but this is indeed the first proper Speedy album since 2018’s “Twerp Verse.”  To say I was eager to get my hands on “Rabbit Rabbit” is an understatement & it, in turn, blew my expectations out of the water. This is a complex, fun, thoughtful, dense album by one of the best bands out there today.

To me, despite being a fluid, cohesive listen, “Rabbit Rabbit” really breaks down into three mesmerizing sections. The record starts incredibly strong, with the one two punch of “Kim Catrall” and then “S02.”  These two tracks are bursting with both hooks, energy, & the right amount of sass. The first four tracks are the blistering alternative sound that we come to expect from a Speedy Ortiz album.  

The middle section is where things start to get weird, but in a really good way. This is where you hear the “Haunted Painting” influence the most.  Highlights from this portion include “Cry Cry Cry” with it’s metallic booming refrain of “Pressure, Pressure/ Rabbit Rabbit” as well as the hypnotic, elliptical “Who’s Afraid of the Bath.”  There is  something dark lurking in this song, but it’s always one step ahead of you.

The last section, which kicks off “Emergency & Me” is quieter than all that’s proceeded it. But not necessarily softer.  Here you find the duo of “The Sunday” and “Brace Thee,”  two exquisite numbers that feel like the emotional aftermath for all that’s come before on the record.  The construction of the album is beautiful, and its pacing of these sections creates a unified listen stronger than the sum of its parts. Sadie Dupuis and company  have created a tour de force with “Rabbit Rabbit.” If it takes another five years for the follow up, fear not, because I bet  “Rabbit Rabbit” will still be revealing its secrets & surprises to us.

Favorite Track: “The Sunday” and “Brace Thee,”  are a flawless duo, and the standouts on an album of standouts. But “Kim Catrall” as the opener, with its infections “Today Is Magic!” refrain tickles me to no end. Magic is an understatement.