The first photos of Frightened Rabbit showed the band wearing
masks or facing away from the camera entirely. Even the members’
surnames remained a mystery: A trio of first names and a hometown of
Selkirk, Scotland (demonstrated by the charming, indelible brogue of
the band’s vocalist) were the only pieces of information provided.
Well, that and the absolutely marvelous songs contained on Sing the
Greys, the sort of debut that had even the most wearied of music
fans shedding their jaded indifference and pricking up their ears,
wondering, “Who is that?”
The answer is Scott and Grant Hutchison, two brothers who bash on
guitar and drums, respectively, with Billy Kennedy on keyboards.
They’ve since been joined by guitarist Andy Monaghan to assist with the
bigger sounds of album number two, The Midnight Organ Fight. The
heart of the band, though, is in Scott’s raw, penetrating songwriting
and the interplay between him and his brother, whose ferocious drumming
provides a huge, brutal wallop.
Says Scott, “We hadn’t even played together even though we grew up
together. He’s such a large drummer that I never wanted to play in the
same space as him until we had a larger practice room, because it was
just so painful. He’s ridiculous.”
The Midnight Organ Fight is one of the most nakedly emotional
albums in recent memory, documenting the protracted demise of a
relationship amid cathartic major chords and tribal drum thumps. “Is
that you, in front of me,” howls Scott, “coming back for even more of
exactly the same? Are you a masochist?” There are also romantic
sentiments like, “You’re the shit and I’m knee deep in it,” and “It
takes more than fucking someone to keep yourself warm.”
“Well, I was breaking up with someone,” says Scott. “Or they were
breaking up with me. I can’t really remember which. The whole to and
fro—like, you really want to move on, but then you see them again
and you go back, but no, that’s not healthy… the whole thing actually
feels like a disease you have to get rid of.” Contained in the
passionate songs of The Midnight Organ Fight, the pain of a
breakup never felt so immediate—or hurt so good.
Everybody kept saying “Oh, Frightened Rabbits are so, so good, blah blah blah, you should listen to them, blah blah blah.” And I was like, “Turn off the hype machine!” But then I listened. And they really are so, so good.
You listened TO ME. Right?
The funnest part of this show was asking everyone with an accent if they were “with the band.” Most of them weren’t.
Oh, yeah. Totally listened to you. Uh huh. Totally.