French For Rabbits – The Outsider (AAA Records / A Modest Proposal / Reckless Yes)
Ahead of the band’s third album The Overflow New Zealand dreampop outfit French For Rabbits release ‘introvert anthem’ The Outsider.
Artist: French For Rabbits
Track: The Outsider
Label: AAA Records (NZ / Aus) / A Modest Proposal (Italy) / Reckless Yes (UK / RoW)
Released: 24 September 2021
Find it: Bandcamp | Spotify
Being an introvert in a world which rewards extrovert behaviour can be, to put it mildly, a challenge. At best you’re judged as too quiet or too shy, and at worst you’re too aloof bordering on misanthropic. The world is loud, and busy, and time to think and consider is scarce. You end up standing on the edges, not knowing how (and sometimes half not wanting) to join in.
New Zealand dreampop folk band French For Rabbits capture this challenge, and these feelings, in latest single The Outsider. Twinkling melodically there is a sense of melancholy tinging the acceptance in this ‘introvert’s anthem’. There is longing for togetherness, but the need to be alone was the song glows softly. It comes with the perfect visual accompaniment in the collaborative video made with filmmaker Martin Sagadin (Aldous Harding, Womb, Marlon Williams) and cinematographerJulian Vares, where songwriter Brooke Singer plays the part of the lyrical ghost at the edge of the party.
‘Pushing myself, but I’m faking / Thought I’d be yours for the taking / Leave me alone with a book in my room / I’ll find myself there’
Of the track Brooke Singer said, “In 2019 I visited LA for the first time to do some co-writing with a few different producers and songwriters ahead of a French for Rabbits tour – it was an exciting, dizzying experience – all the palm trees and heat.
“One balmy day, I had a session with Marc Orrell (Dropkick Murphys) and Brooke Johnson and we ended up writing my favourite song on this new record – an introvert’s anthem that finds joy in the act of being alone. The song distils the feeling of being an awkward introvert at a party – staring at your phone on the edges of a crowd”.
Following on from singles The Overflow and Ouiji Board French For Rabbits are giving us glimpses of a beautiful, delicate and thoughtful world full of detail and consideration ahead of their third album (also titled The Overflow). A fully realised creative vision is slowly being revealed to us making you wish for November to get here sooner, while also being glad to have these weeks to spend with your full attention on the singles released so far.
The Outsider by French For Rabbits is out digitally now. Album The Overflow is out 12 November and up for pre-order on vinyl, CD and digital – there are different versions depending which territory you are you.
Find French For Rabbits: Twitter | Facebook | Instagram | Spotify | Bandcamp
Image: Lily Paris West
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Disclosure: Sarah Lay is editor of Popoptica and co-founder of Reckless Yes, so has some involvement in the release of this record – but she really does only write about or work on music she loves.
Sarah Lay
A long-standing music journalist she's also co-founder of independent record label Reckless Yes, an author of novels, and when not messing around with words and music, a digital strategist.
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