“I rely on creativity to manage stress and heartache, and this record is no exception. 2022 was a rough year. We moved states, I started a new job, and it’s been a difficult transition. Every track on the album has some element of that stress in it. But the album also connects the personal to the social and global. 2022 was a year of reckoning, of facing hard truths. And I think this is currently what we are doing as a species, especially with regard to our impact on our little planet. So there is some kind of parallel between my own sense of “running out of time” and the sense that we are, collectively, running out of time. Apocalypse is on the horizon. But the reason why it’s for “beginners” is because it’s so damn obvious. It’s not like the apocalypse is sneaking up on us; it’s like a heavy-stepping drunk crashing through the door at 4am, still singing karaoke songs. And I see that same sort of “obviousness” in my personal life when I reflect on the decisions I’ve made. So the album is touching on this parallel.
But I don’t intend any specific message for listeners. The album isn’t a lecture. I do plenty of that teaching college. I like to keep the lyrics open to interpretation so that listeners can insert their own meaning into each song. That makes every Rabbit Junk track a sort of collaboration between the band and the listener; we make the meaning together. That’s how I like it.”
This is how JP Anderson of the American based band Rabbit Junk describes the band’s new album Apocalypse for Beginners.
The album starts with “Heavy, a track with raw disorientating energy. Intense growling vocals enhanced by heavy instrumentation perfectly compliment the emotional and provoking lyrics. Featuring Amelia Arsenic on vocals “Stone Cold” has retro vibes and commanding, fierce male vocals accentuated by powerful and taunting female vocals. “Nostromo” has an unsettling blend of 80s and heavy industrial music emphasized by vocals that oscillate between beseeching and viciously snarling. The track “Love is Hell” has haunting female vocals alongside guttural screaming male vocals all within a dark and aggressive soundscape. A powerful blast from the past with intense industrial sounds “The Grind” has harsh, mechanical sounding guitars with fluctuating male and female vocals. With an intro that feels like a demented surf rock track, ‘The Bodies” has an undulating sound that makes the listener feel like they are on a manic sea plunging beneath the frothing water until they can’t breath, before being dragged back up. “Praetorian Aureol” begins with a haunting crescendo before erupting into grinding, rhythmic industrial sounds. The track is full of evocative lyrics and passionate vocals. With a thunderous beginning “Rabbit Out of Hiding” has the feel of a classic 80s rock anthem. The song erupts into an energetic and fast-paced track. “Apocalypse for Beginners” has heavy guitar riffs and a dirge like beat accompanying melodic vocals which are interrupted by bursts of tortured chaotic vocals.
Overall this album is an intoxicating and stimulating journey spanning various genres.
Links
Bandcamp: https://rabbitjunk.bandcamp.com/album/apocalypse-for-beginners
YouTube : https://youtube.com/@RabbitJunk
