It’s fortunate, then, that it’s rather good. Though the Muse references are obvious, and there’s an occasional nod in the direction of Radiohead, 'Disclaimer' is very much its own record. There’s a swagger and righteousness to it, but it’s saved from appearing cocksure by the songs’ disconnected and stuttering style. Full of disconcerting flickers and flashes, it’s attention deficit music: an aural strobe light flickering and stumbling over a mad scientist-esque bubbling of noises and effects, leaping from one idea to another so abruptly that no one tune has a chance to outstay its welcome. The music loops and whorls under a deep crooning vocal; stumbling and lurching through unexpected mood-shifts and crescendos, occasionally pausing for breath before spiralling downwards again.
With the impossible-to-ignore volume and insistence of someone hammering a point home and a dark, foreboding compulsiveness, Disclaimer is a most impressive slab of twisted post-rock. The only problem is: how on earth do The Half Rabbits top last year’s achievements? I await their solution with bated breath…
The Half Rabbits - Disclaimer
The Half Rabbits - Disclaimer