Atmospheric and personal

LOVERS OF MUSIC: After landing songs on some of the biggest TV shows, French for Rabbits are touching down in Tairawhiti in anticipation of their upcoming album release. Picture supplied

Locals are in for a global treat next week when French for Rabbits take over the Dome Room as part of a six-show tour around New Zealand.

Singer/songwriter Ebony Lamb and Gisborne's very own Keira Batten-Coogan will open up the show.

Like many great artists from Aotearoa, French for Rabbits are little known on these shores but adored overseas— partly due to being repeat offenders on some of television's biggest shows.

The band's top songs on Spotify — Goat and The Other Side — have combined over 15 million listens.

“It's cool to have a couple of songs that have done really well,” vocalist Brooke Singer says.

“We've probably got The Vampire Diaries to thank for that and other TV shows.

The Other Side features on the popular Netflix series Never Have I Ever.

“We have had a lot of new listeners after featuring on the show. It's one of those situations where we're not really famous in our home country.”

The Wellington-based band is fronted by Singer and the five-piece band of guitarist John Fitzgerald, drummer Hikurangi Schaverien-Kaa, and multi-instrumentalists Ben Lemi and Penelope Esplin.

“We're music nerds who love making the kind of music we create, which is atmospheric and personal with lots of interesting details.

“Much of New Zealand lives by the coastline where you have this sort of melancholic coldness, but the music itself is quite warm in its own way.”

Kind of like Wellington, Brooke says.

The band is on the brink of bringing more goodness for wanting ears.

A series of singles and videos are set to be released this year and their third full-length record is due out in November.

Their title track of the forthcoming record, The Overflow, has just been released to coincide with the tour. The Overflow is a drifting, poppy number, good for making heads nod and bodies move.

The band has a few surfers in their crew, so Gisborne is sure to be a highlight.

“It's a place we want to get to more often.”

The group last played here in 2017.

Despite their overseas fame, they are going to hold off on a trip away from home and stay in New Zealand while the pandemic threatens the durability of live shows.

“I think we're going to chill out for a while because I feel like, unless you're quite a well-known band overseas, there is still some risk of lockdown. We have got friends that have toured then their shows have been cancelled. So we're going to make the most of living here for a bit.”

But the band does have plans to be surrounded by pasta and vino.

“We've got an Italian record label and we have toured there once before and we loved it. We do want to get back to Italy and sample the pizza and pasta.”

French for Rabbits is playing at the Dome Room, Thursday, August 5. Tickets from undertheradar.co.nz or direct from the venue.