White Rabbits – Fort Nightly
By Andrew Duncan • Dec 4th, 2008 • Category: Categories, Indie Rock, ReviewsWhite Rabbits
Fort Nightly
2007 – Say Hey
Origin: Columbia, Missouri
Style: Indie Rock
When Mark Szakonyi wrote the review for the White Rabbits Fort Nightly, not only was he on the mark, but it was the review that pushed me to pick up this release from the Brooklyn, New York, six piece via Columbia, Missouri.
Szakonyi paints the picture. “Fort Nightly hijacks the ear and never lets go as it saunders…” (http://www.popmatters.com/pm/review/white-rabbits-fort-nightly).
Let’s face it, there is a hell of a lot going on throughout the album. Fort Nightly is like watching a parade go down the street and getting an earful of anything from ragtime to calypso to power pop to simple barroom musings.
One thing that the White Rabbits do so well is make this album chaotic without making it claustrophobic. There is enough space within the songs that make it feel like it is not weighed down even though it is very dense in style and composition.
Fort Nightly starts out stronger than it ends. “Kid On My Shoulders” is like a mardis gras celebration on Dia de las Muertos. With three vocalists and two drummers, it’s easy for them to pull off a sound that is the equivalent to a mob with torches.
“The Plot” just proves to be a great indie rock song that stands out beyond anything else on the album. After a few more songs, the album contorts into this Danny Elfman-like haunting formula of instruments swaying notes amongst percussion drum pounding and a twist of insanity. Sometimes they succeed as with the title track, and sometimes they don’t fare so well, “March of the Camels” — the name says it all.
And I am in full agreement with Flux Capacitor (http://mog.com/FluxCapacitor/blog_post/127752) that the song “Reprise” should have ended the album and proving their insanity with this re-visit of the opening track but like a drunken mess of spittle splashing on the piano in the back of a smoky bar.
Even though these guys call Brooklyn their home, there is a strong presence of Midwestern hospitality that flows through this album. You listen to Fort Nightly and you immediately get the sense that this group genuinely loves to have a good time. This association could stem from their Missouri accents in the vocal tones and the playfulness of the song constructions. But all in all, Fort Nightly is simply a pleasing album to embrace.
Cross-Reference: Arctic Monkeys, Oingo Boingo, XTC
Andrew Duncan is a journalist who has migrated to the forces of academia. He has written for various publications including Chord, Heckler, Readyset...Aesthetic, and a vast array of alternative press contributions. When not roaming the streets of Indianapolis, he is either addicted to KXCI, making music, or striving to watch every film listed on IMDB.
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[...] Rabbits: http://whiterabbitsmusic.com/ Music Essay on Fort Nightly: http://www.zaptownmag.com/2008/12/white-rabbits-fort-nightly Tagged as: brooklyn, its frightening, spoon, white [...]