Rabid Rabbit

S/T

Interloper Records 2009

Deep, low-end doom that spirals into acid-orgy jam sessions is what was awaiting me with degree of surprise on the self-titled album from Chicago's Rabid Rabbit.  This vinyl-only release lumbers out of the gate on Welcome to the World but quickly develops into a rockin' jam session free-for-all and harbors a psychedelic current flowing through its veins.  Sort of a darker, more paranoid doom version White Rabbit.  The track is anchored to the murky sea bottom by rippling double bass guitars.  Andreas vocals are sparse and unfeelingly dazed.  Rapid string plinking and spacey 1950's synth sounds heighten the sense of paranoia on Spider though the deadened vocals of Andrea ground the song's cacophonous guitar racket.  The thick sludgy riffs rise from the depths to give the track a modicum of structure.  Towards the end of the tracks loooong 9 and a half minutes this all becomes a little tedious.  Ephedrine wanders through soundscapes that cross the barren borderlands between doom and post-hardcore.  Gregg's warbling and jam session stringwork sound as if he was locked in a room with the ghosts of past psychedelic gods and ordered to masturbate his guitar as he rambles all over the place with his axe.   Morse Code is a more formal song with a bombastic rock riff and dream-like vocals drifting over a steady beat.  This album has a daringly improvisational feel to it which adds to its immediacy and keeps it dynamic while at the same time coating the listener in sludgy, low-end doom.  If you like your doom to leave you feeling as if you have been on a long and somewhat scary acid trip then Rabid Rabbit's debut album should should send sparks through your lysergically addled brain.