Amanda Rae Carter
Band members are guitarist Grant Kempski, guitarist and vocalist Hannah Switzer, bassist Kent Genis and drummer Lawrence Gann.
There is a very specific brand of heartbreak familiar to any woman who has relationships with men. Even the good ones hurt us. Attraction, infatuation, even honest-to-god love can’t erase the reality that we experience different realities.
The insidiousness of patriarchy — and the emotional turmoil that comes with navigating it — provides a deep well of inspiration for the songs on Tell Me About Your Dad, the debut EP from Madison indie-rock band Labrador. A project from songwriter, guitarist and vocalist Hannah Switzer, drummer Lawrence Gann (an Isthmus contributor), and bassist Kent Genis, the band excels at crafting moody, urgent, absolutely beautiful music driven by Switzer’s insightful lyrics and exceptional voice.
There’s no shortage of songs about relationships out there, but Switzer provides a more focused and intimate look at power dymanics, internal conflicts, insecurities and frustrations — the hard-to-explain things you complain to your friends about. The EP’s anthemic opener, “Everybody Wants to Know You,” peels away the facade of someone magnetic and powerful. A line in the song provides the EP’s title — and an invitation to vulnerability. The toe-tapping “Dumb” delicately and humorously unpacks the absurdity of hookups. “Secret Feelings” is about, well, latent misogyny.
Switzer’s use of an unusual four-string tenor guitar gives the songs a bright, almost stripped-back quality that works perfectly to showcase big vocals. Gann’s tight drumming and Genis’ steady bass lines provide a solid foundation. The result is simple and impactful, often driven more by verse than by chorus. Think Big Thief with a more upbeat, lo-fi vibe.
Formed in 2017 as a two-piece, Labrador has experimented with instrumentation for live shows over the last year or so and added lead guitarist Grant Kempski for a solo on the EP, which was recorded at Howl Street Recordings in Milwaukee and mastered at Chez Bigfoot in Madison. He’s now officially in the band, and their sound as a four-piece is bigger and better than ever. Bring on the LP, please.
