When I first saw local act Nobunny a few years back, his bunny-masked garage rock seemed like just a joke, and I didn't feel inclined to keep up with his output. When I saw he had a new album out this year, I was pretty sure it was going to be another middle-of-the-road garage revival record- but I'm glad to say that I was way wrong about that. I have a soft spot for catchy, power pop & doo-wop influenced garage rock a la Jay Reatard/King Kahn/Exploding Hearts, and this exactly that, done right. Nobunny has a knack for catchy melodies, and he switches styles up often, making for a diverse and enjoyable set of songs that pretty much always hit their mark- "Breathe" is a slow-grooving T. Rex vamp, "Never Been Kissed" adds a frantically hammered piano into the mix, and "I Was On (The Bozo Show)" closes out the album with a take on the famous circus song "Entry of the Gladiators". The lyrics are clever too, frequently funny and surprisingly dirty. First Blood is so sunny and fun I almost forget that we are in the middle of a cold snap and I can see my breath inside of my house. The album's 11 songs are over in less than 25 minutes, but there's a lot of memorable hooks packed into that short play time.
BTW- Number of times I resisted making bunny-related puns in writing this review: 5
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