Local Rabbits

Montreal's Local Rabbits are a band that rarely heard a good idea they didn't like - a lot - and as a result, their albums have sometimes verged on overwhelming. For their third full-length, the sheer density finally overcomes the strength of their good ideas. For This Is It Here We Go, songwriter and keyboardist/guitarist Peter Elkas has ditched many of his Springsteen-isms, fellow songwriter and guitarist Ben Gunning has added a whole lot of '70s rock to his collection, and drummer Jason Tustin and bassist Ryan Myshrall just try not to get caught in the crossfire (Myshrall has even abandoned his Johnny T. Starr persona). With very few songs under the four-minute mark, and many of them stuffed to the brink with layers of fuzzy guitar and banks of keyboards, the Rabbits seem to have mistaken appetite for ambition. That might even have been a successful strategy, had their been a palate cleanser or two along the way in the form of a lighter, more upbeat number or a quick, throwaway pop tune. The band's first album, You Can't Beat This, was full such of goofy, funny, occasionally annoying little segues - ones that not only changed up the pace of that record, but also let you in on how much fun the band was having. This Is It Here We Go feels like you'd be shushed for making jokes at all.