White Rabbits stream "Untitled," director talks forthcoming doc :: Music News :: Articles

[Above: screenshot from Andrew Droz Palermo's forthcoming White Rabbits documentary]

Fresh off a stint of tour dates with The Walkmen, White Rabbits are back home in Bushwick, Brooklyn. Nevertheless, there is no rest for those weary leporids, as they already have a few new tracks floating around as well as a documentary in the works.

White Rabbits played one of the new songs, currently untitled, during their visit to the Paste Culture Club studio this past November. While a future podcast episode will feature both recordings and videos from the band, you can stream a startlingly pristine mix (props to Paste A/V gurus Jared Wells and Stephen Spana) of "Untitled" in its entirety below:

Meanwhile, filmmaker and friend of the band, Andrew Droz Palermo, is working on a White Rabbits documentary. After growing up in Missouri with bassist Adam Russell and guitarist Alexander Even, and realizing that his friends' band was "actually really good," Palermo began filming. He says he considers Fort Nightly, the band's debut, a very visual record, but also derived documentary impetus from the fact that the guys in the band are simply genuine dudes.

"It certainly helps that they are all handsome, charismatic gents," Palermo admits. "They love their mothers and are friendly to people who don't always warrant it on tour. In addition, they are all artists. They are serious about their work and are all self-driven, and I think that's special. But they don't take themselves too seriously. I've always appreciated artists who aren't afraid to take themselves down a notch."

Having traveled for over three months with White Rabbits already, Palermo says he has enough footage for the film, which will be his debut. However, filming continues, and rather than focusing on a singular aspect of the band (touring, interviews, the recording process, etc.), Palermo is instead opting for a little bit of all of the above.

"I knew I didn't just want a behind-the-scenes thing," he says. "Or even just concert footage. I'm not really interested in putting them up on screen arguing (which happens rarely, anyway), or drunkenly partying. It's more of a tonal visual and aural thing. My goal is that at points it will hit you hard with sound and image, and other times it will be quiet and meditative. I want it to have a definitive mood, just as Fort Nightly has its own. I think of it more as a feature film than a documentary where you might learn what sort of snacks they like in the green room."

No release date is set for the film, though Palermo says there is a possibility that the documentary will coincide with the band's second album, which is currently in the writing stages. In the meantime, he's posted a number of beautiful screenshots and one short clip of the band performing another unreleased track called "Sea of Rum" at WhiteRabbitsDoc.com.

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