Pitchfork Spotlight: Frightened Rabbit

Sometimes you come across a band that immediately catches your ear and the lyrics are instantly relatable. You don't always pay attention to the band's name or you're preoccupied with a mindful of other things. Before you realize it the name has slipped your mind and the song is ingrained in your head. Luckily my "OCD" to find out every last detail leaving no stone unturned worked in my favor. This exploration rewarded me with The Midnight Organ Fight the second album from the Scottish troupe Frightened Rabbit. A band started as a moniker for a solo project by its lead singer Scott Hutchison. He has created lyrics that embody a bleeding heart that is unapologetically thrown on the table. It is difficult not to relate to his desperation apparent in his up front blatantly honest verbal explosions of the pain he feels. Their second album primarily focuses on the lost love as Hutchison struggles through his lyrics to re mend his broken heart from what seems to have been a heart-wrenching travesty. His bluntness in addressing his feelings is a welcome transition from the expected indie pop track that has a tendency to sugar coat their saddened perspectives. Hutchison mentioned the next album will not center on a breakup given there hasn’t been a relationship to be broken. He moved on to say it is more about creating distance and feeling lost in this environ of solitude one can create for themselves. Definitely a concept every man considers in his adult life, if he states otherwise he is lying to himself.

“The Modern Leper” is the opening track of The Midnight Organ Fight, and sets the tone for what the listener can expect from this introspective album of personal grief. It addresses the concept one has in a relationship ship when optimism fails and reality sets. The internal questioning of one’s self worth and the gratitude and resentment they hold for the other for dealing with their faults and continue to ignore the obvious issues never addressed. More importantly, the listener bears witness to the self-deprecating behavior an adult can deal with based on the shotty upbringing by their parents that has overwhelmed their daily lives. It’s an ambiguous role that exposes the victim’s inner child’s struggle to overcome their parent’s close-minded perspective and hope to feel unashamed about themselves.

Inspired by a photo from Gregory Crewdson

The Modern Leper

You can see Frightened Rabbit on Sunday at stage C @ 1:45, and that evening at @ 8.

Frightened Rabbit