Trap Rabbit Redefines Form and Meaning on Mitski's "Nobody" with Sophie Coran and Arnetta Johnson

Trap Rabbit by Rachel Del Sordo

By Emily Herbein

Trap Rabbit, the undefinable drums and keys duo, released a cover of Mitski’s “Nobody” today, and I think it’s going to top my favorite covers of this year. With the help of Sophie Coran and Arnetta Johnson, they manage to pull Mitski out from her niche of what I’m calling “sad girl” music and into something that feels complexly spacial. I’m so partial to Mitski’s earlier albums - Bury Me At Makeout Creek and Puberty 2 are such a perfect blend of thoughtfully edgy, melancholic, and grunge rock, which is very much my thing. Have you ever cried to “Your Best American Girl”? I recommend. But hearing people that I admire reimagine an artist that I deeply respect just gives me another reason to fall back into Be the Cowboy. That album adds elements of synthetic dance and electronic instrumentation into her expansive repertoire, which is a space where Trap Rabbit thrives. I can’t think of a better cover for them to tackle than “Nobody.”

I’ve said it before, but the best part about a Trap Rabbit song - or cover - is that I know immediately that it’s their song. It’s not easy to carve out such an instantly recognizable sound, but Logan and Arjun manage to make anything they work on completely their own. That’s an admirable quality that they should be proud of. They both are self-described Mitski fans, and both felt a sense of importance in choosing this track to cover thanks to its duality in sound and lyrical content. There’s a line between feeling happy and feeling depressed, and this song stands right on it. It’s up to the listener to interpret where they think they fall, and Trap Rabbit expertly does the difficult job of not choosing a side either.

Their version of “Nobody” rises and falls with orchestral movements and is very firmly a jazz cover. Fervent drum patterns are the driving force behind the song, and they’re so nicely balanced out by both delicate and intense key swells. Like I keep saying because it’s just a constant in all of their songs, Logan and Arjun are such expert collaborators. They know exactly how to play off of each other - when to pull back, when to move forward. It’s always evident, and they manage to avoid sounding competitive with each other. No one is ever trying to drown the other out. The track is slow-building, excitable, and completely satisfying. The addition of Arnetta Johnson’s trumpet overlay adds another element of fullness to this track, and if she hadn’t been added into the lineup, I would have felt like something was missing. The sound feels completely imagined with another layer of instrumentation. She makes the song feel cinematic.

I’m so glad they decided to have Sophie Coran, a longtime collaborator, on vocals. Her own work sits comfortably in the jazz and R&B genres, and her voice is one of the defining qualities that transform this song from Mitski’s electro-pop to something a little darker. Her vocals are naturally soulful and pull out the sense of longing from this song in a way that feels essential to make her stand out from the eclectic soundscape behind her. Logan and Arjun back her own band, but I wanted to know how it felt to have the roles reversed with her feature on a Trap Rabbit song. It’s a unique thing when collaboration can go both ways with the same artists and have both projects feel so different. Everyone involved clearly knows how to work together, and the end result is so tight and realized despite the eccentricity of the sound. It would have been easy for the idea to get away from them, but each artist, separately or together, is an expert at their craft.

“Logan and Arjun are really close friends and musical collaborators so I was very excited when they asked me to be involved in a Trap Rabbit collaboration. Having Arnetta Johnson on the track as well takes it to another level. “Nobody” feels like the perfect backdrop to the pandemic (I even got to write a verse with this arrangement)— feeling lonely and craving social connection. These sessions have definitely been a highlight of the past few months and I’m really proud of how this turned out,” Sophie said. I am too. This song showcases both a sense of versatility and comfort because, while this is very much a Trap Rabbit rendition, it’s also an experiment in collaboration and form. They killed it.

You can listen to “Nobody” below or anywhere you find music, and their most recent release, “Time,” here.