(2017) French for Rabbits - The Weight of Melted Snow



Review: 
The 2014 debut album Spirits by this central duo of Brooke Singer and John Fitzgerald (here with multi-instrumentalist Ben Lent of Trinity Roots, drummer Hikurangi Schaverien-Kaa and Penelope Esplin, and guests) was a sheer delight and we described it as “not so much shoegaze as folksy skygaze” for its dreamy folkadelic sound. It is well worth finding even now, and probably even more so if this new one takes your fancy. As it should. 
They describe themselves as dream pop and that’s fair too: the opening vocals on ‘Time Did Not’ (“I stood still but time did not”) and ‘Into the Silence’ rise on wafts of electronics and ethereal backing vocals as Singer’s voice dissolves into the ether. 
There’s an embrace of wistful reverie in places here (the folk-pop of One and Only) and somewhat darker reflections on ‘Your Halo’, (“back then we should have known it wouldn’t well”). And as before many of their imagery and metaphors are drawn from the natural world (birds, flowers, fog). 
The refinement of their lyrics read like spare poetry (‘Close My Eyes’, the almost chorale quality of ‘Days Shift’) and relationship appear to evaporate slowly rather than in a hail of anger. 
‘Feathers and Dreams’ is a moving vision of a bird caught in flames and its wings on fire. The point being that while we recoil in horror we should also honour the creature by not turning away but feeling its pain. 
This depth of writing is matched by the arrangements which are supportively understated. 
If the traditional pop end of the spectrum is dialled back in favour of parlour ballads and thoughtful folk that’s only to say that this is an album for quiet consideration as its many layers reveal themselves. 


Tracklist: 
01 - The Weight of Melted Snow.flac 
02 - It Will Be Okay.flac 
03 - Time Did Not.flac 
04 - Birds Eye Point of View.flac 
05 - One and Only.flac 
06 - Your Halo.flac 
07 - Dead Wood.flac 
08 - Close My Eyes.flac 
09 - Hollow Bodied Friends.flac 
10 - Feathers and Dreams.flac 
11 - Days Shift.flac 


Summary: 
Country: USA 
Genre: dream-pop, indie-folk