Well, its Spring here in Chicago. Thank God. Now this usually means a few things for me– finals, a new girl, and indie folk rock. This years newest addition to the last is Scotland’s Frightened Rabbit. I honestly haven’t stopped listening to their album The Midnight Organ Fight, out last month on FatCat Records, for days.
Echoing The Long Winters, the anthemic folk rock of Frightened Rabbit seems to fit in so well with clear blue skies and fresh green leaves. While all their songs are immanently melodic and singable, complicated guitar strum patters and syncopated and delayed drum beats take songs to a different level rarely achieved. However, it is the lyrics which take Frightened Rabbit from merely a good band, to one of my new favorites: they are both self depreciating and questioning at the same time, which is certainly only aided by Scott Hutchinson’s Scottish accent. All these different facets of Frightened Rabbit make The Midnight Organ Fight one of the best releases of the year.
Album opener, “A Modern Leper,” sets the standard amazingly high for the rest of the album. A downbeat strummed acoustic slowly builds into an all out wall of sound puncuated by chorus lyrics “Well is that you in front of me? / Coming back for even more of exactly the same / you must be a masochist / to love a modern leper on his last leg.” Another standout track, “Good Arms Vs. Bad Arms” has a much more country folk feel with a delayed brushed drum bet and slid backing guitar line. In it, the narrator pleas a former lover to remain faithful and may contain the most depressing but amazingly beautiful line on the album, “Keep your naked flesh / under your favorite dress.”
So fortunately for everyone here in Chicago (yay us!), Frightened Rabbits play a free show at The Empty Bottle on June 12th with Oxford Collapse and Tigercity. Those not lucky enough to live in the Windy City will have plenty of opportunities to see them across the country as their tour continues through the end of June.
Check out their awesome video for “Heads Roll Off,” as well. I certainly wish indie bands came and played in my primary school classroom.
Frightened Rabbit – The Modern Leper
Frightened Rabbit – “Heads Roll Off” Video
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That’s a damn good description of them. I have their first disc and I was OK with it, but this seems a bit better.
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