death of a rabbit - Your Arms Are My Cocoon: Review
Review by Lavender:
Your Arms Are My Cocoon is kind of the definition of a cult hit. In 2020, the Chicago project spearheaded by Tyler Odom released a self-titled EP consisting of just 6 tracks that stretched only 13 minutes. Now half of those songs sit with more than a million streams on Spotify, as Your Arms Are My Cocoon proved the old axiom that if you make good art people will find it. The project rose from the corners of DIY screamo and skramz Bandcamp scenes to develop an absolutely beloved fanbase in various circles of music discussion online. Now, nearly 4 full years later after multiple extensive tours, the band is back with a full-length debut album.
Let's get this out of the way first, death of a rabbit is a deliberately challenging listen that will not be for everyone. This isn't just a screamo record, but an exceedingly lo-fi one that deploys jagged recording, muddy mixing, and blistering screams throughout. But in contrast, those sharp edges are met with an elated beauty through the poetic songwriting, fluttering synths, and twinkly guitars that play a supporting role throughout the album. That combination creates some truly stunning emotional highlights.
Opener let's get married begins with patient acoustics before erupting into chaotic noise, something the record does time and time again. It also introduces an emotional motif that works on me almost every time, repetition. In this instance, it's the title phrase of "let's get married" which guides the song to this eerie close. That leads right into one of the record's stand out cuts muffled beneath the sound of the ocean. It's a ripping screamo cut that wastes no time throwing you into a dizzying array of instrumentation and the kind of distant harrowing screams present all over the self-titled EP. Eventually that gives way to a chorus that walks the line between dreaminess and abrasion with screaming backed by a glistening chorus of supporting vocals. The song serves up an impressively versatile sound palette across just two minutes.
portraits is a pretty short song but it has a truly standout vocal performance. Tyler's chilling repetition of snow falling and reflections becoming distant guides the song to a stunning conclusion. That speaks to the pure poetry of so much of the writing on this album, especially on the second half. houston is a fascinating song discussing the idea of crashing a car deliberately so as to live on with someone you love as a ghost forever. I think that's why the vocals here are largely sung rather than screamed but it makes the screaming that eventually enters the track hit all the harder.
The title track death of a rabbit follows and it's the second longest song here, stretched to a full 6 minutes. It's tipped off thematically by the sampled outro of swandive and returns headfirst into similar subject matter that appears on the self-titled EP. The most poignant moment of songwriting actually pops up on the hook where Tyler memorably articulates "I'm caving in" as a signifier of their mental wellbeing. Around the midpoint there's a huge increase in intensity right in time for the screamed backing vocals to crash in for another stunning moment.
Speaking of stunning moments, we really have to talk about the album's 10-minute centerpiece runner duck, which runs nearly the entire length of the EP all on its own. It's a three-part track that starts off with one of the record's rawest moments on the entire album of Tyler screaming while playing banjo. The midpoint features one of the record's textbook eruptions and this is absolutely one of the best of them highlighted by these dreamy soaring guitars and keys that feel straight out of a Parannoul song. In the closing moments the repetition makes a return as phrases like "it floats through the wind" and "I love you" are said over and over heightening their impact. It all concludes with a spoken word passage that steps into much more specific and precise detail than much of the rest of the record and the writing is so vivid. It's such a stunning journey of a track that takes me on such a compelling journey every time.
runner duck's intro isn't the only place that the album deploys its lo-fi instincts. city in ashes features muffled screams cutting through dreamier instrumentation that feels like it's been fed through a Caretaker filter. While the middy mix obviously creates a total mess of instrumentation overlapping the effect it achieves is compelling highlighted by the keys that loudly blink over everything. Closing track husk is another lo-fi cut with a noticeable crackle hovering over everything that pairs really well with the gentle creak of the sun vocals. Ending the album with its quietest and most fragile moments as Tyler softly repeats "I could be buried here with you" is just perfect.
Elsewhere on the record are moments that seem to hone in tighter on technical prowess despite the emotionally raw demeanor of the record. City On Fire leads off with this frenetic little midwest emo-flavored guitar lick that's dreamy but also backed by crashing drums that ping with a distant flutter. The overwhelming keys on the song sometimes take over the mix completely and lead into a bridge that's a pure instrumental thunderstorm. Later on the record through the brighter eyes of hazel features a drum solo in the beginning that totally kicks ass and leads perfectly into a blown-out synth lead. The song becomes a huge deep-cut highlight with its final emotional passage where Tyler writes about letting spring die and watching streetlights fade.
death of a rabbit is an album whose imprecise writing doesn't present a clear approach to either subject matter or thematic journey. But that eerie and emotive poetry is presented masterfully alongside a sound palette that weaves together shattering noise with twinkly shimmers in a way that both heightens and matches the vision of lo-fi screamo born in the wake of the Your Arms Are My Cocoon EP. Four years removed from that EP that slowly built the band a cult following, they returned with a record that feels completely unburdened by expectation. While it surely will satisfy many fans of the original EP, those moments seem coincidental rather than calculated. What results is an extremely challenging listen but one that finds potent sadness and beauty in its muddy mixing and dizzying noise. The album could rightfully be called a well-earned victory lap, if it wasn't so emotionally shattering to listen to. 8.5/10
For more screamo check out my review of poorly wrote suicide note's pwsnii
