After all, it wasnt until August that the Oklahoma City act released even the subtlest sniff of recorded material: a three-song EP of quaintly crafted demos and early recordings titled Drunk Rabbit that, as anyone whod seen the group in concert would attest, resembled the work of a band whose burgeoning brawn was begging to be unleashed.
The groups self-titled EP ought to be considered a proper debut, then. Because these beguilingly melodic six songs sound remarkably assured for such a relatively young upstart.
Blues, psychedelia, lounge, jazz and soul are all well-represented in the discs 26 minutes. This daunting confluence of sounds never once seems forced, with tracks that weave seamlessly from genre to genre in a way that eschews the pitfalls of predictability.
Yet the impenetrable glue of the band is Morgan Hartmans seductively sturdy vocals. Equal parts velvety and guttural, they often recall a fiery, impassioned Victoria LeGrand of Beach House, and are utilized to rousing effect when layered atop the bands thunderous instrumentation. And its all captured masterfully here.
Ultimately, however, the Feathered Rabbit EP ought not to be considered a breakthrough, but rather, an affirmation of something many already have heard for themselves: a refreshing take on time-honored sounds from an act with heaps of promise. Zach Hale