The bizarre storyline continues. Gabe Gill and Honeyfitz who together form what we’ve described in the past as the experimental off-center mellow pop duo, Deadmall have delivered their debut full-length project, Bunny Rabbit. But, what about it makes it bizarre? We spend so much time covering and acclaiming artists that rage into the night with thematic deliveries we could never hope to relate to, that sometimes it’s easy to forget about the simple, relatable things in life. And other than being incredibly talented musicians, the guys at Deadmall are just guys after all. That’s what we’ve always loved about their music. 

 

Of course, there are hints of irony and a touch of humor to their work, but shouldn’t there be? There is certainly irony and humor every time we spend a paycheck on sneakers to wear to our low-paying jobs. Shouldn’t our music sometimes follow suit? The mellow pop movement has been about relatability and honesty from the get-go. Humble kids making beats in their bedrooms has evolved into humble kids baring their souls to the stages of Coachella simply because we all find something comforting in their relative normality. 

 

That normality merges with the experimental world of modern DIY production and emerges as unpredictable linework on a blank slate. Bunny Rabbit, even when weighed against Deadmall’s young and limited catalogue, is unpredictable. A more somber, altogether poignant take on their debut EP, Deadmall 1, Bunny Rabbit is just an honest tale of two guys from Western Mass trying to make it as DIY musicians. If there is a more fitting project of what mellow pop is all about, we haven’t heard it yet. 

 

The music itself is also obviously worth noting. Gabe Gill and Honeyfitz have starkly contrasting vocal deliveries that somehow find balance to elicit continuous emotions from their listeners. Simplistic yet very professional production heavily inspired by the motifs of the 80’s and 90’s provides a fitting backdrop for a duo that specialize in belaying the messages of suburbia’s still dying death. It surpasses relatability and normality in its lyricism to thrive in its retro-futuristic production. It’s bold.  

 

If one brash outlier on the project exists, it’s Cold featuring fellow Massachusetts experimentalist, Rothstein. But, it finds its fitting placement amongst the rest even so. Bunny Rabbit is worth a listen in its entirety to rediscover that music is perhaps at its best when it’s at its most off-puttingly relatable, and that normality when harnessed by talented artists is perhaps not as normal as we thought.