Year Of The Rabbit stands as a muted companion piece to O.K., Eskimeaux’s most recent record, which graced our best albums list last year. Whereas that one was recorded at home and then toiled over after the fact to draw the most out of Gabrielle Smith’s concise pop sensibilities, this mini-album was recorded primarily live and left to stand for itself. That lighter framework ends up highlighting the ambiguities in Smith’s songwriting, both the ways in which life’s incongruities never seem to add up (“Trouble believing what you say you’re feeling/ All you ever say is ‘good,'” she sings on the opening title track) and how her melodies play against each other in a satisfying push-and-pull. The early trio of singles — “Power,” “WTF,” and “Drunk” — probably represent the best of what the mini-album has to offer, but the title track and the rest are nothing to sneeze at. Listen to the whole thing and check out the band’s upcoming run of tour dates below.

Tour Dates:
04/12 Santa Fe, NM @ Meow Wolf * #
04/13 Phoenix, AZ @ The Rebel Lounge *
04/14 Los Angeles, CA @ The Echo * ^ #
04/15 San Diego, CA @ Che Café * ^ #
04/16 San Francisco, CA @ Swedish American Hall * ^ #
04/18 Portland, OR @ Analog Theater * ^
04/20 Seattle, WA @ Vera Project * ^
04/22 Salt Lake City, UT @ Diabolical Records * ^
04/23 Denver, CO @ Lost Lake * ^
04/25 Minneapolis, MN @ 7th St Entry * ^
04/26 Madison, WI @ High Noon * ^
04/27 Chicago, IL @ Lincoln Hall * ^
04/28 Cleveland, OH @ Mahall’s * ^
04/29 Pittsburgh, PA @ Mr. Roboto Project * ^
04/30 Philadelphia, PA @ First Unitarian Church * ^
05/01 New York, NY @ Market Hotel * ^
05/06 Kingston, NY @ BSP Lounge %
05/07 Winooski, VT @ Waking Windows
05/12 Somerville, MA @ ONCE Ballroom ~
05/13 Providence, RI @ Aurora ~

* w/ Frankie Cosmos
# w/ Anna McClellan
^ w/ Yowler
% w/ Mac McCaughan
~ w/ free cake for every creature

Year Of The Rabbit is out 4/15 via Double Double Whammy. Pre-order here.