Pepper Rabbit

Pepper Rabbit

Pepper Rabbit are an L.A. duo originally from Boston, who recorded their record, Beauregard, in New Orleans, and play shows in India. That’s about as far afield a geographic quadrant as we’ve seen for an up and coming band in awhile. The location-based angle must be working though. Pepper Rabbit will be joining Ra Ra Riot later this month on the west coast. Like the equally heterogenous Ra Ra Riot, Pepper Rabbit isn’t afraid to mix pop or electronic elements with old-fashioned instruments – in Pepper’s case it’s banjos, horns, and barrelhouse piano banging. The band rejoices in the odd instrumentation, having fun with song names like “Send In The Horns” and “Song For A Pump Organ.” On the manic “In The Spirit Of Beauregard,” the duo corrals wayward upright pianos, synths, and flat 7ths. There’s a bit of Beirut mastermind Zach Condon’s world-conscious, world-weary eclecticism, but also a nod to Dr. Dog’s simple gift for pop hooks. The band shows off their youthful naivete on uke-strummer, “Older Brother.” “We both sat on my bed in my room/ And we both talked about what was coming soon,” the duo sings in a warbly voices reminiscent of Delta Spirit’s Matt Vasquez. “And I think that you’re the older brother that I never had” goes the chorus, and it’s hard not to join right in.