Bio
Garage punk trio. Marc and Darlene write and sing and play guitars. Jane plays the drums, and she sings too.
“Their punk rock was loud and fast and fun.” -Tim Lewis, Tim’s Triangle Tribune
“…The Burlington-based, husband-and-wife-fronted garage-rock trio is an excellent addition to the Queen City scene, and on Black Rabbit EP the three introduce themselves with an honest handshake. The album takes you on a short but bracing five-song ride from the garage to the road.” -Justin Crowther, Seven Days
"On their 2013 self-titled debut EP, Burlington punk trio Black Rabbit offered a glimpse of the band they might become. Though a tad derivative in moments, the brisk, five-song recording suggested a budding promise within the minds of husband-and-wife duo Marc and Darlene Scarano. On their latest effort, the recently released Lipstick and Dynamite, Black Rabbit take a bold, steel-toed-boot-clad step toward realizing that potential.
As on their first record, Black Rabbit remain rooted in 1970s punk and bands such as the Ramones and New York Dolls. But on their latest, they use the iconic sounds of those bands merely as a launching point to explore new avenues. The result is a self-assured and markedly improved album that finds Black Rabbit beginning to truly forge a unique identity.
In particular, front man Marc Scarano boasts a previously unseen swagger. The easy confidence of his disaffected drawl is compelling and infectious. On opener "Black Cat,"; he snarls with quiet menace over an insistent punk groove. This eventually steamrolls into a proggy, psych-rock breakdown that comes out of left field yet is not too jarring.
"Tarpaulin"; coalesces around an efficient guitar riff that sounds like an outtake from the Strokes' Is This It — and that's a good thing. The song itself has more in common with Surfer Rosa-era Pixies, especially in the call-and-response section between the Scaranos.
"Mark My Words" may be the most bracing two minutes of music you'll hear from a local band this year. It's followed by the equally aggressive "Rejected," on which Darlene Scarano tempers her husband's sneering vocals with poppy, beach-blanket backing vocals.
Lipstick and Dynamite vastly improves on its predecessor in production. While Black Rabbit's debut had a degree of lo-fi charm, Robot Dog Studio's Ryan Cohen masterfully tweaks the knobs and faders this time, presenting the band with greater fidelity without losing any
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