Without much time to listen to all the CDs at the Spinner CD listening party, I chose the latest release by Rabbit! The album art reminds me of the Partridge Family graphics, but with bunnies instead of birds. I'm a sucker for bunnies. As if the Partridge Family collided in a time tunnel with Ms. Pac-Man and Super Mario Bros., this 21st century hyper-pop sounds almost unbelievably cheerful. On first listen, I thought it was the same girl from the "Fly Me Away" Amazon Kindle ads. Not so. Maybe this jingle-style message of hope and love is in vogue, which isn't so bad. Is it too saccharine? I leave that for you to decide, but I love every single well-crafted song on Connect the Dots. This ain't no cotton-mouth band of drunks out to pick up chicks with rock'n'roll, these are kid-friendly songwriters who convey a genuine sense of joy with every crystal-clear lyrical enunciation.
