Rabbit! is an offbeat indie pop duo of Ashton Allen and Devin Moore. For more than a decade, the songwriting pair have created a veritable soda fountain of happy, hopeful, and lovable tunes which have captured the attention of critics and families alike. Taking cues from such unconventional acts as They Might Be Giants, fun., and Of Montreal – with a sprinkling of the wide-eyed optimism of 60s bubblegum acts like The Archies and The Monkees – Rabbit! spins their own brand of quirky pop that speaks to a multi-generational audience.
Whether it’s playing a prop-filled set at Las Vegas’s Life Is Beautiful festival or performing for kids at an ice cream shop in North Carolina, Rabbit! leaves their delighted audiences begging the question, “Is this kid’s music for adults, or adult music for kids?”
Allen and Moore are longtime friends who met in Florida and began their songwriting collaboration as Rock SaltMusic in 2007. Their songs have been licensed by top brands like Honda, Zappos.com, Samsung, Dove and Frito-Lay, and they have also composed music for various television and film productions, most recently the theme song for a new Netflix kids’ show called “Izzy’s Koala World.” Refinery29 calls their tune “shockingly catchy.”
“We never meant to be a band,” says Allen. “What we noticed was that clients were asking for bright, happy indie pop, and our songs were getting placements in kid-friendly commercials.” We wrote a few kids’ songs, and found ourselves in Brooklyn, NY, performing a morning show for toddlers and then the same set at an evening show for hipsters –and they all loved it. It’s been an incredible journey since then.”
In short order, Rabbit! released two full albums — Connect the Dots (2010) Go for It!(2011). Throughout the past decade, Rabbit! tunes got regular spins on SiriusXM Satellite Radio’s Kids Place Live. “Absolutely Mindy,” the popular Kids Place Live host, remarked, “I just think these songs are fantastic,” and other critics raved about Rabbit!’s bright style of songwriting. Several singles and three EPs later, the duo released the timely song “We Are All in This Together” in early April 2020.
Now, with Happiness Is Simple, Allen and Moore present 8 new and original songs with little life lessons that never hit us over the head. There are tunes about self-empowerment and resilience like “Tough Enough” and “Let’s Get Started.” “Submarine” is a metaphor for life’s explorations where “Sometimes you gotta go deep (deep)/To set yourself free.” And while the title song invites listeners to take charge of their happiness, “(I Let the) Wheels of the Bus” – allows us just to go along for the ride sometimes. Two songs – “Hush Heard ‘Round the World” and “Sleep” – provide a little rest, followed by the peppy ode to pandemic puppies, “Dogs Like These,” which riffs on the classic song “Mama Said.” The EP finishes with the rousing title song, which sounds as though it’s the latest release from the band fun.: “Happiness Is Simple.”
Formerly based in Los Angeles, Moore moved to Seattle last fall, and Allen returned to Orlando. The two continue to work together transcontinentally, and they hope to meet their fans #IRL again in the near future.
Love the YouTube video. Sounds great!