"Jarid del Deo’s trio Unbunny has somehow flown under the radar through a gradual migration from Washington state to New Hampshire, releasing a series of pleasingly folk-tinged lo-fi discs on a parade of small labels along the way. Influences are displayed prominently on sleeves with the band’s fifth LP, Snow Tires: the stark acoustic strumming of “Nightwalking” and “I Knock Things I Haven’t Tried” is a direct lift from the Elliott Smith fake book, while del Deo’s nasal voice nods to Neil Young, particularly on understated full-band workouts like the piano-laced “Nothing Comes to Rest.” But what initially seems an impressive style-exercise gradually reveals Unbunny’s unique charms, largely through cryptic poetry and personal lyrics. On “Pink Lemonade,” del Deo repeatedly pleads, “Don’t leave me with the shakes” to a melody reminiscent of the Beatles’ “Don’t Let Me Down.” His appeals apparently rebuffed, the closing title track finds the narrator unable to summon more than a whisper as he hauls boxes from his girlfriend’s garage and frets over the condition of her tires. Surveying his small town’s Main Street Christmas decorations, he mumbles “Do they really think a string of colored lights is gonna rescue me?” Del Deo may not be the sunniest sort, but Snow Tires is the best kind of bummer." File Under: sweet melancholy Recommended If You Like: Songs: Ohia, early Elliott Smith, mellow Neil Young, Wilco, M. Ward, the One AM Radio
-CMJ New Music Monthly