Snake and the Rabbit are the husband and wife duo that take Americana vibes, and infuse it with a gritty folk-flavor in "It's Around Midnight," from their latest EP, 'High and Dry.'
The Colorado duo Snake and the Rabbit are alluring: their Bandcamp page features their newest project, "High and Dry," emerging out the encompassing isolation of COVID-19, and highlighting their well-fitting single, "It's Around Midnight.". Their compositions on this record tend toward Americana garage-folk intimacy; the tones are raw, the orchestrations fluid, and the harmonizations of a husband and wife, Leanna and Brett, feel like a real revelation.
No matter the method—saturated choruses, jangly drums, or thrifty acoustic guitar textures—the track tends to sound like they were made with love in a cottage outlooking the Colorado hot springs; a sense of home is predominant, with a tinkling of adventure in the backdrop. The groove is loose, and the verses' proclivity is coarse and organic, yet it's still everything a veteran of contemporary music would benefit from indulging in.
The drums provide a forward-moving snap as it intertwines with the whole aesthetic like a tightly-knit kerchief, and there's an appealing crispness to Leanna's belting hymns as Brett supports with an underlining ghostlike harmony.
As we dive further, there's a discerning depth to the melodies that Snake and the Rabbit incorporate in their music, which utilizes the silky shine of distant electric guitars with a low rumbling gritty bass dancing amongst a sparkling vocal layered support.
It's a complete and well-rounded spread of feeling and sentiment. Even as the bassline drives forward, the counterparts of this breathing mix fluctuate and evolve—a solicitation to let go and dance no matter how heavy the day may feel is undisputable. And for that, we have to thank Snake and the Rabbit for sharing this project with us.
Listen to "It's Around Midnight" here.
Welcome back to BuzzMusic Snake and the Rabbit! It's been a pleasure listening to and featuring, "It's Around Midnight."! Can you tell us the main story behind this track in particular?
Ever since COVID started and our gigs have been canceled, we've had to pick up second jobs to offset that lost income. "It's Around Midnight" is about working a job while trying to play music. It's about working a shitty 9-5 (or in Lee's case a late-night bartender gig) and constantly being on opposite schedules with your loved one while making room in your busy life to spend time together. It's about working a double and coming home around midnight tired AF. Lastly, it's about finding your purpose no matter where you may be on your journey.
When you two collaborate in writing and creating, do you always occupy the same roles? Meaning, does one of you always focus on lyrism while the other the orchestration?
The majority of our songs start out with Lee writing the lyrics while playing a riff or chord progression on acoustic guitar. Once the rough draft is done we come together to work on arrangement/structure and fine-tune the lyrics. Some of the songs happen organically with Lee on guitar and Brett on drums, just jamming until something whole comes out. Occasionally Brett writes a song as well. He chooses to write the lyrics first and then comes back to create the music, usually starting with bass and drums. On the record, we recorded acoustic guitar, drums, and Lee's vocals simultaneously, adding the other tracks to each song as necessary.
If you could describe the perfect place and setting to accompany your music, or the best scenery to enjoy your catalog in, what would you recommend?
All of our songs were written on a road trip or about a road. We highly suggest you go on a road trip, camp in a dispersed, primitive campsite or go on an adventure in some town you've never been to.
Thank you for stopping by again! One last thing, you recently moved out to Colorado to start up a recording studio, how is that coming along?
Happiness Hill Recordings is going well. We've mainly just been doing our own stuff (this High and Dry album) as well as recording some local musicians from the Colorado Front Range area. We don't really advertise it and yet we are still finding people who want to come in.
What has been keeping you inspired in 2020?
We've been writing and cutting demos for our next full-length album as well as playing weekly Facebook and Instagram Live Shows for our fans every Thursday. Digital Live Music is a good way to stay inspired and connected to our fans. From a larger perspective, the protests for equal rights for BIPOC and demands for Police accountability/restructuring around the country have already inspired a few songs from us and an awakening of sleeping minds around the country. The current political climate is a big inspiration for us to keep creating peaceful, loving music. The next album will definitely have some political undertones that we've not yet touched on.