French for Rabbits have dedicated nearly a decade to creating warmly detailed and expansive music together. Led by songwriter and producer Brooke Singer, the project came to life when she started working with guitarist John Fitzgerald in the coastal township of Waikuku Beach back in 2012. His minimalist, shimmering guitar lines proved to be the backbone of their early work, and over the years the band has expanded to include multi-instrumentalists Ben Lemi and Penelope Esplin alongside drummer Hikurangi Schaverien-Kaa.
Together they’ve toured in the US and Europe, opening for acts such as Lorde, Agnes Obel and performed at SXSW, Iceland Airwaves, WOMAD and in a castle for a fan’s wedding in Switzerland.
Their 2022 Taite Music Prize nominated third LP The Overflow breaks into sophisticated but introspective pop territory following their elegantly stated second LP, The Weight of Melted Snow (2017), their 2014 break-out Spirits, and the 2012 New Zealand Music Award-nominated EP Claimed by the Sea.
On The Overflow, the group offer up their most compelling, vibrant work, receiving critical acclaim from national and international music reviewers and audiences alike.
The album was recorded with NZ producer/musician Jol Mulholland (Tami Neilson, Neil Finn, Delaney Davidson, Troy Kingi) in Wellington at The Surgery and in Auckland at The Lab, with mastering by Carl Saff in Chicago.
“their music’s beating heart is often shrouded by atmospherics and mystique, and they seem to operate under the rightful assumption that a well-placed whisper can be as powerful as dramatically belting it out ”