Artist: Crake
Title: Rabbit
Format: Digital single
Cat#: Fika090SG4
Release date: 28th April 2022
Bandcamp | Spotify
““The best band in Leeds” James Smith of Yard Act"
“A pensive, dejected moment of magic, but magic nonetheless” Gold Flake Paint
"Charming and intimate alt-folk” Dork
"The guitars sizzle like lightning bolts striking against an otherwise clear sky, while Sandle’s distinct, hoarse vocal plays like another instrument” Secret Meeting
"In a world of cynics, [Crake] make you believe anything might still be possible” For The Rabbits
Leeds quartet Crake have shared a compelling new single, ‘Rabbit’. It’s the latest track to come from their upcoming debut album, ‘Humans’ Worst Habits’, which arrives via Fika Recordings on May 27th.
The band’s curious combination of gentle alt-folk and folkloric lyrics have received increasing attention of late. James Smith of Yard Act declared them “the best band in Leeds” after he played out their most recent single ‘Winter’s Song’ on Steve Lamacq’s BBC Radio 6 Music show. They’ve also been receiving plenty of acclaim from tastemaker sites like GoldFlakePaint, Dork, For The Rabbits, Beats Per Minute, Secret Meeting and more.
Today, they follow up ‘Bobbie’ with new single ‘Rabbit. The band’s chief songwriter, Rowan Sandle, expands on the track:
"There are some repeating themes in Rabbit such as coming to terms with cruelty and acting unkindly. But the end is an attempt to understand where this comes - the freezing with anxiety, the defense of it all. It reminds me of a story my mum told me as a child that has stuck with me. We used to go on holiday to these ready made camping sites in the north of Spain. There was a fire and a woman’s husband died. As my mum comforted her, she replied with a simple fret over losing her husband's personal tobacco allowance and how she now had too much duty free tobacco to bring back home on her own. I was really young, probably too young to be told the story, but I never felt anger or surprise over the women's displaced anxiety. I got it completely.
I guess I do have a fundamental belief that most humans are doing their best within the circumstances they find themselves in. It's not that we are not trying hard enough, but that doesn't mean we have to accept that this best couldn't be better wither. Often I think it's about trying differently."
Sandle’s curious worldview is at the heart of much of their forthcoming record. She believes that life isn’t as black and white as we’ve been taught, and that queer nature may hold the key to revealing the true nature of human experience. That’s why things like slime mould - single-celled organisms that form a single body when in search of food - and brittle starfish - a type of starfish whose awareness isn’t concentrated in one place - emerge over and over on ‘Humans’ Worst Habits’ and furnish it with a folklore all of its own.
Alongside the more obscure nature references, there’s also a very human and tragic undercurrent that runs through ‘Humans’ Worst Habits’. Sandle’s friend Anna was working for a women's liberation group in Syria when she was hit by a Turkish airstrike and lost her life. The album directly explores the grief that followed and the lessons Sandle learnt in dealing with such a significant loss.
Both mythical and pragmatic, ‘Humans’ Worst Habits’ is a sumptuous introduction to a world that has plenty to offer to all who pass through.
“Crake will be very high on our list of Favorite Discoveries of this year. Heck, they’re probably one of our favorite bands at the moment after making us go silent with “Winter’s Song” and “Bobbie”. If they lived in Brooklyn, Austin, or LA, they likely would be celebrated and adored in the same manner as Big Thief. Their day will come, where a song like “Rabbit” will become an indie classic.” The Revue
“the track is a classic slice of Crake, Rowan’s prominent vocal meandering through a forest of steady drums, propulsive chords and wiry country-licked guitars, as the lyrics prod and poke at social conventions and the thrill of going against them, “my neighbour’s vines are growing all the time I said that I would water them last weekend, I stayed inside, hoped that they would die I guess it’s me taking the easy way out”. As intriguingly unique as ever, with their own vision of the world Crake are a band to fall in love with, bad habits and all.” For The Rabbits