For those of you who don’t know, Sky Rabbit is an alternative rock band from Mumbai with a commendable track record. Their live shows have been described as energetic and fresh, so I was very eager to listen to their first album, which is now published by EMI.
The album opens with In Dance, an interesting number with a Beatles-esque drum-n-bass production and a great vocal line. This seems like a wonderful introduction to the band, for somebody who has no idea who they are. This track is followed by In Our Times, which is reminiscent of a typical U2 song (minus the bucket load of guitar delay). This one’s got a great clear guitar sound and a fresh arrangement, which adds a contemporary sound.
The next track, Maybe Is Open Tonight, jumps straight into action, with very little freshness left as the song progresses. The vocal style gets tiresome by this track in the album, though it’s such a short album, that it could perhaps just qualify as an EP. On to the albums valley zone, Over The Rise is clearly meant to be the down-tempo, lazy, easy-listening track. With nice clear arrangements and crisp vocals, it’s placed perfectly, though I could barely hear the lyrics. And finally to the title track of the album, Where. Its a very Don Henley meets Chris Martin kind of song. That’s all I can say. Definitely something to go listen to, not read about. It’s rather surprising why this is the title track though since it’s clearly not the best on the album.
By the end of the album their sound is a little hard to place. It’s quite pop-py, rather than rock-y, in a good way. The album does get a little stale, thanks to a lack of attention to song selection and rather similar sounding production on most of the tracks. I believe that a band such as this could’ve accomplished so much more. Overall, this is definitely an album to buy; even if just to get an idea where Indian bands are heading, and reaching out with world-class musical offerings. I’m definitely waiting for their next album!
