Frightened
Rabbit I Feel Better / The Twist [7"
/ DL]
“Dramatic
and dance-worthy, Scotland’s
Frightened Rabbit are in the spotlight
with the third single to be taken from
their album Midnight Organ Fight —
a double-A side 7-inch featuring I Feel
Better and The Twist...”
SO FAR, 2008 HAS BEEN A GREAT YEAR for Scotland's Frightened Rabbit
— who, despite the name, is actively seeking the spotlight. The
band's debut album, Sings The Greys was released in the autumn
of 2007 and their successful touring included rave reviews from the SXSW Festival.
Frightened Rabbit's sophomore LP, Midnight Organ Fight, has gained impressive
approbation, with some proclaiming it to be the year's best. Recorded by Peter
Katis (Interpol, Mercury Rev), the album has a number of tracks that feel like
potential hits and it is hailed as the "most hook-filled album FatCat has ever
released" and they are able to "make insight, accrued from personal experience,
connect on an almost anthemic, universal level." Way to go!
Frightened Rabbit is said to have a "ragged charm" but they have moved on sonically
and have sharpened and honed their craft into a highly-efficient, hugely powerful
force. With a brilliant grasp of pop song-writing dynamics, the band's music
is delivered with an absolute economy.
Kookie, cute, emotive and quirky vocals served up with a highly-addictive, hip-swivelling
rock beat that leaves you wanting more — that's Frightened Rabbit, caught
in the headlights of attention with their infectious indie-pop ballad I Feel
Better, shot through with Seventies rock grandeur and accompanied by The
Twist — a racy, complementary number with relish.
Frightened Rabbit's songs appear utterly rooted in the body and the overpowering
physical urges and effects deriving from love, lust and intimate human relationships
in a raw, sensitive state.
Brothers Scott and Grant Hutchison — on vocals/guitar and drums/vocals
respectively — are joined by Billy Kennedy (guitar/keys) and latest recruit
Andy Monaghan (guitar/ keyboard) to make up Frightened Rabbit, an unconventional
four-piece with a well defined personality.
The publicity machine says: "The two tracks on this double-sided 7-inch come
at life from opposing sides — the first telling of a past relationship
and the second one of potential. I Feel Better is 2 minutes 45 seconds
of frenetic, pumping urgency, flowering into a thick, surging musical tide.
Set in the aftermath of a love lost, its determinedly self-assuring and positive
assertion (this is the last song I write about you) unravels itself in
the telling as paper-thin and plagued with doubt.
"Not so much an amorous yearning as a stumbling, desperate grope towards the
need for human warmth and one night's postponement of the fear of being alone
(twist and whisper the wrong name / I don't care and nor do my ears);
The Twist revolves around a stabbing piano motif and gradually builds
before a vibrant rhythmic injection of drums and an arpeggiating, almost house-y,
piano pushing the track into a swirling euphoric excess of melodies and fluttering
texture.
"Lyrically ranging from incisive social commentary to lucid, humorous explorations
of interpersonal relationships, Scott's songs convey candid tales of ordinary
folk with a wiry, acerbic wit via an eloquent, emotive, modern garage-pop aesthetic.
Always a riveting live force, the band has recently played dates such as T In
The Park, The Big Chill and Summer Sundae, as well as support slots with the
likes of Sons & Daughters, Editors, We Are Scientists and Idlewild."
You'll be hearing more from this band from North of the border as a full UK
tour has been added in support of the single.
• Frightened
Rabbit's I Feel Better / The Twist will be released on a new 7-inch/DL
on September 22 (2008) through FatCat.
Check out fat-cat.co.uk, myspace.com/frightenedrabbit
and myspace.com/fatcat.
"One of 2008's truly great indie-pop albums" 9/10 — Drowned In Sound
"…hail the first truly great album of 2008" — The Daily Star
"Frightened Rabbit will leave you stunned" — The Independent On Sunday
"Utterly beautiful" 8/10 — NME
"…bracing, startling, infectious and often brilliant" — The Sunday Times
"Midnight Organ Fight more than delivers on its promise: tons of spiky
energy, proper tunes and a real lyrical bite…" — Q
"…their product is one-of-a-kind, as their consistently great second album attests"
8/10 — Pitchfork
"Kookie, cute, emotive and quirky vocals served up with a highly-addictive,
hip-swivelling rock beat that leaves you wanting more — that's Frightened
Rabbit, caught in the headlights of attention with their infectious indie-pop
ballad I Feel Better, shot through with Seventies rock grandeur and accompanied
by The Twist: a racy, complementary number with relish" — MotorBar
