Whores / Rabbits – Split 7”/DD 2014

Here we have a strangely enticing 7” offering from Brutal Panda Records and Eolian Empire, the two acts sharing the grooves are Atlanta’s Whores and the more familiar Rabbits who hail from Portland, Oregon. Given the nature of the humble 7” there is not an awful lot here to digest, but what is present is pretty much vital listening material, the highlight of course being the fact that both bands cover The Cure, Whores with the seminal ‘Jumping Someone Else’s Train’ and Rabbits with instrumental ‘A Reflection’ and ‘Give Me It’ from 1984’s album ‘The Top’.

Whores are a newer act who I had heard very little of except the occasional name dropping, a little searching yielded the fact that they had put out two previous EP’s on Brutal Panda but further info about the band was not so readily forthcoming, however their cover is absurdly enjoyable. Drawing out the original song to its fullest whilst injecting a heavy dose of blues ridden and downtrodden sludge rock. Their particular take on The Cure is both maddeningly addictive and incredibly effective; the replay value alone is immense and will see this little record being spun all night long till its grooves are no more. Seriously it’s that good – Whores are certainly a band I will be keeping a close eye on in the future.

Rabbits don’t disappoint either – their more obscure contributions from The Cures back catalogue land with devastating effect. At their core they are a Noise Rock / Sludge act, peddling the grittier end of both, imagine a collision between the now (sadly) defunct Dethscalator and Southern Lord’s Black Cobra and you are heading in the approximate direction sound wise. The instrumental ‘A Reflection’ serves up as a sombre and doom ridden introduction to the teeth gnashingly heavy ‘Give Me It’ which serves as the surprise of the record, hitting you hard with cold, unrelenting beats and vocals that gargle and spit with pure venom and hate. The fact that this works so well given the original material is insane, delivering an intense and driving beast of a track to round out the release nicely. This is definitely worthy of your time; indeed for me this has been one of the first real musical surprises of the year, a limited release which you should hunt down as soon as possible!

Label: Eolian Empire | Brutal Panda Records
Whores: Facebook | Bandcamp | BigCartel
Rabbits: Official | Facebook | Bandcamp

Scribed by: Todd Robinson