Gleeful lo-fi pop-punkers Rabbit Troupe are from New Jersey and are the breezy and fun summer high kick of 2012. Made for back porch impromptu parties, the easygoing nature of these recordings belie actually interesting song structure, comfortably recorded and mixed. The six tunes on Treasures Are Miniscule bring back the best parts of early 90s indie fuzz like Space Needle (big time!) and east coast Canadian bands like Eric’s Trip and The Inbreds.
Short, smart and fun as hell, each tunes takes a different tack, from the tinny head-bobber of opener “Paramecium”, the energy remains constant and constantly shifting, “South Side Seaport” rides the waves in sparkly fashion.. it’s here the harmonies really remind me of Space Needle. The minute-long Excellent Rage injects some fuzz and noise into the plot before meandering into the more pensive “Books Can Be Deceiving”. The whole thing peaks on the more epic slow burn of “Spherical Brother” and then dons some canonical harmonies and heaps on the hooks for the party-rock outro of “Instant Churchill”.
Rabbit Troupe are a fine example of the bliss-rock pouring out of New Jersey’s basement scene these days. Treasures Are Miniscule is a fun and utterly satisfying slab of sunny, poppy punk served raw with a heavy sauce of 90s guitar and vocal melodies. Great stuff!
