Bunny Is a Rider

"Bunny Is a Rider" is a song by American singer Caroline Polachek, released on July 14, 2021, through Perpetual Novice. It is the lead single from her fourth studio album Desire, I Want to Turn Into You. Written and co-produced by Polachek, it features production by frequent collaborator Danny L Harle. The song received critical acclaim and was named the best song of 2021 by Pitchfork.

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Background and composition

Upon releasing the song, Polachek referred to "Bunny Is a Rider" as "a summer jam about being unavailable". Keeping the identity of "Bunny" a mystery, she revealed, "Bunny is slippery, impossible to get ahold of. Maybe it's a fantasy, maybe it's a bad attitude. But anyone can be Bunny, at least for three minutes and seventeen seconds".^[1] The production features "a scorching bass performance from producer Danny L Harle, plus his baby daughter's first vocal cameo".^[2]

Critical reception

The song was met with widespread critical acclaim. Jordan Darville of The Fader labeled the song "avant-pop". Describing the song as "gently groovy and full of the vocal wizardry Polachek does so well", it was later included on the magazine's "weekly Songs You Need playlist".^[3] Praising the track, Robin Murray at Clash Music opined that the song is a "fantastic piece of electronic pop" and an "extraordinary return" of Polachek.^[4] Jade Gomez at Paste felt like the song was a change of pace for Polachek, viewing the release as "a sonic departure from Polachek's dreamy, introspective indie-pop as she veers into spicier territories". The prominent "whistles transport listeners into a Caribbean paradise as Polachek reflects on operating untethered to anyone or anything".^[5] The writers of DIY called the song a "futuristic-pop bop".^[6] James Rettig at Stereogum noted the "twitchy and smooth" production, complemented by Polachek's "gliding, stuttering processed vocals".^[7]

The song was ranked as the number-one song on Pitchfork's year-end list of 2021.

Year-end lists for "Bunny Is a Rider"
Publication	List	Rank	Ref.
Consequence	Top 50 Songs of 2021	11	^[8]
Gigwise	The Gigwise 20 Best Tracks of 2021	5	^[9]
The Guardian	The 20 best songs of 2021	4	^[10]
The New York Times	Lindsay Zoladz's Top 25 Best Songs of 2021	15	^[11]
NME	The 50 best songs of 2021	17	^[12]
Pitchfork	Top 100 Songs of 2021	1	^[13]
Uproxx	The Best Songs of 2021	Placed	^[14]

Music video

The music video was released on July 26, 2021, and was directed by Matt Copson, while Polachek herself served as a co-director.^[3] The scenery is set in "a dimly lit labyrinth of boxes". Polachek is then seen leading the camera towards "different sections of the maze", passing by boxes that contain taped labels with words like "rocket science", "geese" and "dark crystals".^[15] Brit Dawson at Dazed Digital drew comparisons to Tomb Raider and Alice in Wonderland.^[16]

References

^ Minsker, Evan (July 14, 2021). "Caroline Polachek Shares New Song "Bunny Is a Rider": Listen". Pitchfork. Archived from the original on February 4, 2023. Retrieved February 13, 2022.
^ Lavin, Will (July 14, 2021). "Caroline Polachek evades capture on new single 'Bunny Is A Rider'". NME. Archived from the original on February 4, 2023. Retrieved February 13, 2022.
^ ^a ^b Darville, Jordan (July 26, 2021). "Caroline Polachek announces tour, shares "Bunny Is A Rider" music video". The Fader. Archived from the original on February 4, 2023. Retrieved February 13, 2022.
^ Murray, Robin (July 15, 2021). "Caroline Polachek's 'Bunny Is A Rider' Is A Stunning Return". Clash Music. Archived from the original on February 4, 2023. Retrieved February 13, 2022.
^ Gomez, Jade (July 14, 2021). "Caroline Polachek Returns with "Bunny Is a Rider"". Paste. Archived from the original on February 4, 2023. Retrieved February 13, 2022.
^ "Caroline Polachek unveils 'Bunny Is a Rider' video". DIY. July 26, 2021. Retrieved February 13, 2022.
^ Rettig, James (July 14, 2021). "Caroline Polachek – "Bunny Is A Rider"". Stereogum. Archived from the original on February 4, 2023. Retrieved February 13, 2022.
^ "Top 50 Songs of 2021". Consequence. December 6, 2021. Archived from the original on December 6, 2021. Retrieved February 13, 2022.
^ "The Gigwise 20 Best Tracks of 2021". Gigwise. December 7, 2021. Archived from the original on March 10, 2022. Retrieved February 13, 2022.
^ Beaumont-Thomas, Ben; Snapes, Laura (November 29, 2021). "The 20 best songs of 2021". TheGuardian.com. Archived from the original on November 29, 2021. Retrieved February 13, 2022.
^ Pareles, Jon; Caramanica, Jon; Zoladz, Lindsay (December 7, 2021). "Best Songs of 2021". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on November 1, 2022. Retrieved February 13, 2022.
^ Flood, Alex; Trendell, Andrew; Hunt, El; Kemp, Ella; Shutler, Ali; Jolley, Ben; Mylrea, Hannah; Williams, Jenessa; Bassett, Jordan; Williams, Kyann-Sian; Krol, Charlotte; Daly, Rhian; Clark, Patrick; Williams, Sophie; Smith, Thomas; Richards, Will; Buchanan, Rhys; Moore, Sam (December 7, 2021). "The 50 best songs of 2021". NME. Archived from the original on December 7, 2021. Retrieved February 13, 2022.
^ "The 100 Best Songs of 2021". Pitchfork. December 6, 2021. Archived from the original on March 28, 2022. Retrieved February 13, 2022.
^ White, Caitlin; Droke, Carolyn; Williams, Aaron; Hyden, Steve; Gelfand, Zac; Okon, Wongo; Rossignol, Derrick; Spinelli, Adrian; Johnson, Chereise (December 1, 2021). "The Best Songs of 2021". Uproxx. Archived from the original on December 2, 2021. Retrieved February 13, 2022.
^ Serrano, Athena (July 26, 2021). "Caroline Polachek dances away from a minotaur in 'Bunny Is a Rider' video". MTV. Archived from the original on February 4, 2023. Retrieved February 13, 2022.
^ Dawson, Brit (July 27, 2021). "Caroline Polachek channels Lara Croft in 'Bunny Is A Rider' video". Dazed Digital. Archived from the original on February 4, 2023. Retrieved February 13, 2022.

v t e Pitchfork
Music festivals	Intonation Music Festival Pitchfork Music Festival
Best New Tracks	2009 2010
Album of the Year	How It Feels to Be Something On (1998 original) Aquemini (1998 retrospective) Emergency & I (1999) Kid A (2000) The Glow Pt. 2 (2001) Turn On the Bright Lights (2002) Echoes (2003) Funeral (2004) Illinois (2005) Silent Shout (2006) Person Pitch (2007) Sun Giant/Fleet Foxes (2008) Merriweather Post Pavilion (2009) My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy (2010) Bon Iver, Bon Iver (2011) Good Kid, M.A.A.D City (2012) Modern Vampires of the City (2013) Run the Jewels 2 (2014) To Pimp a Butterfly (2015) A Seat at the Table (2016) Damn (2017) Be the Cowboy (2018) Norman Fucking Rockwell! (2019) Fetch the Bolt Cutters (2020) Heaux Tales (2021) Renaissance (2022) SOS (2023)
Track of the Year	"Hey Ya!" (2003) "Heartbeat" (2004) "Hope There's Someone" (2005) "My Love" (2006) "All My Friends" (2007) "Blind" (2008) "My Girls" (2009) "Round and Round" (2010) "Midnight City" (2011) "Oblivion" (2012) "Hold On, We're Going Home" (2013) "Seasons (Waiting on You)" (2014) "Alright" (2015) "Ultralight Beam" (2016) "Bodak Yellow" (2017) "Love It If We Made It" (2018) "Cellophane" (2019) "WAP" (2020) "Bunny Is a Rider" (2021) "Belinda Says" (2022) "A&W" (2023)
Video of the Year	Alright (2015) Lemonade (2016) The Gate (2017) Malamente – Cap 1: Augurio (2018) Cellophane (2019)

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