Vanessa Carlton - Rabbits On The Run Review

Posted by Wyatt E. on 07.28.2011

Vanessa Carlton returns with a fresh sound, and Wyatt E. is here to take a look... and then immediately watch Commando afterward so he feels manly again.

...bleccchhh, it's 2am as I type this, I'm too tired to do one of my random intros right now. I am gonna sleep forever once this review's over. All right, let's do this.



1. Carousel - 3:16
2. I Don't Want To Be A Bride - 4:01
3. London - 4:17
4. Fairweather Friend - 3:55
5. Hear The Bells - 3:44
6. Dear California - 3:19
7. Tall Tales For Spring - 4:28
8. Get Good - 3:54
9. The Marching Line - 3:30
10. In The End - 2:53




Vanessa Carlton's music never really changed much over the past decade, which is fine as she had a decent thing going. Maybe her records weren't something you went back to all the time, but she's rarely released an unpleasant experience (except maybe her cover of "Paint It Black," quite possibly the most unwieldy cover of The Rolling Stones of all time), and within her repertoire of chiming piano and naive lyrics, she certainly hasn't been doing too badly with it for the last three albums. However, a closer look at the situation reveals that Vanessa likely disagrees.

Vanessa has chosen to make some steps to grow up into someone worth taking seriously. Her lyrical content begun on Be Not Nobody as appealingly clumsy teenage poetry, not exactly something you'd turn to for an intellectually involving experience but still surprisingly charming, thanks to a great gift for poppy songwriting. Starting with Harmonium, Vanessa became a bit more personal and deliberately shying away from concessions to the pop market ("White Houses" wasn't exactly setting the world on fire). It didn't quite sound like it, though, since Vanessa's voice still had this cute, girlish quality to it, and despite being in her mid-twenties, she still sounded like she was eight.

Maybe because she sounded stagnant, or maybe because she wasn't interested in being an AM radio favorite, but her commercial success steeply dropped off after her two big hits, "A Thousand Miles" and "Ordinary Day" made their impact. As a matter of fact, when she came out as bisexual early in 2011, it was the most publicity she'd had in years upon years, and it sucks to say that, but it's true. That's probably more of a testament to her following her own muse: she's a musician, not a celebrity, and she wants to be recognized as such. Good for her, although even her third album, Heroes & Villains was still more of a pop album than anything.


You know what's creepy? At certain points she kind of looks like Snooki.

And then there's Rabbits On The Run. Okay, remember when I said she sounded eight when she sang? Well, on this album she sounds fifteen. I remember watching a webcast where she admitted she was aware of this, and attempted to trying to drink more whiskey to make her voice a little huskier. Well, it didn't really work on that level, but she doesn't sound prepubescent anymore, for whatever that's worth. And anyhow, what matters is her approach, which is a welcome change of pace.

Recorded in London at Real World Studios, Vanessa has chosen production that has very little gloss in comparison to previous works, which nonetheless lets each instrument shine through pretty well. Besides, she's obviously confident that the material can stand on its own, and indeed, it feels more organic somehow - probably because lots of this sounds like it was recorded live in the studio. She's chosen a melancholy approach to her songs this time out, with her songs carrying themes of betrayal, ill health and losing loved ones to the military. Even if Vanessa's still not a grown-up yet - there's still traces of the cutesy imagery that she began with - this feels like a natural shift towards maturity.

The real treat for longtime supporters is that her gift of pop songwriting is still there, and it hasn't diminished too much over the years. In fact, one could say she's taking the metaphorical training wheels off for this record. Take first single "Carousel," which has minimal instrumental backing except for a faint bass drum and tambourine off in the distance. The track, for the most part, is Vanessa, her piano, and a children's choir brought in to harmonize with her. It's not really much of a top 40 song, but she doesn't sound concerned with such matters anymore. Lyrically, "I Don't Want To Be A Bride" could also be a good indicator of being an adult; an oddly charming story of falling in love and refusing to ruin it with the prospect of marriage, even dropping the great line "but I don't want to wear white / you know it's too late for that." (Scandalous!)

The 411: A lot of her fanbase dwindled after her first album came and went, and that's kind of too bad because Rabbits On The Run is her most interesting record since that time. She hasn't made things intentionally somber just because she demands to be a serious artist; it sounds like the work of a girl facing the realities of growing up and making sense of things with songwriting. Sounds simple? It is, and maybe that's a good thing. I mentioned in passing that I was reviewing this record to some of my friends, and a near-universal reply was "she's still making music?" She is indeed, and she's not doing too bad at it, even if she's not likely to have another moment in the sun like "A Thousand Miles." It's nice to hear that she still cares about her craft, though, and the result this time out is a record that rewards repeated spins with some of her most assured, accomplished material to date. G'night, everybody.

Final Score:  7.0   [ Good ]