As Hiatus Continues...Enjoy Another Mix..

Hey All...As I continue to determine the next steps of this lowly artist's creative outlet and ventures in the music world I leave you with another Mixtape. It has been a busy yet great summer thus far and with the autumn like weather hopefully creeping up soon and all the kiddies are returning to their halls of education, I cant help but reminisce of the array of emotions that were always attached to this time of the year. Anyway, I will keep you posted on my progress and again...please follow me on twitter @drawingfromusic as I regularly tweet my contributions to The Music Slut, Brooklyn Vegan and of course Radio Free Chicago...Enjoy guys and see ya soon..

Back to School Mix..August Already??

1. E Is for Estranged - Owen Pallett

2.Runaway - The National

3.I Want a House - Twin Sister

4. Wet Cement - Morning Benders

5.Nothing Like You - Frightened Rabbit

6. Salt In The Wound - Delta Spirit

7.Taxi Cab - Vampire Weekend

8. Dirty Cartoons - Menomena

9. I'll Never Leave You - Rogue Wave

10. Perch Patchwork - Maps & Atlases

11.Nobody Gets Me But You - Spoon

12. You Can Keep Me Runnin' Around - Suckers

13. Broken Horse - Freelance Whales

14. Cubism Dream (Daytrotter Version) - The Local Natives

15. Someone's Missing 2:30 MGMT

16. When I'm With You 2:58 Best Coast

17. Gone - Tokyo Police Club

18. Better Times - Beach House

19.Modern Man - Arcade Fire

20.Finish Line - Fanfarlo

21.Down River - The Temper Trap

22. I Only Wear Blue - Dr. Dog

23. Home - Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros

Coachella Set Times and Chicago's Record Store Day Festivities

The festivities commenced a little over an hour and a half ago, as many of folks flocked to the deserts of Indio, CA for this year's Coachella Festival. Unfortunately some acts (Frightened Rabbit, The Cribs) have been forced to cancel their performances due to the airborne toxicity from the volcanic eruption in Iceland. Fingers crossed these cancellations are kept to a minimum; also as Record Store Day has once again fallen on the same weekend as Coachella, the fine people of Zia Records will have a record store onsite. A bundle of artists will be stopping by for signings...On that note, in Chicago Permanent Records will have a free grab bag while supplies last and will conduct their annual Flaming Lips' Zaireeka Boombox Experiment. Reckless Records will host live performances from local acts at all three locations. And finally just past the edge of the city, Rogue Wave will be at Rolling Stone Records for a signing at 11:30. Pitchfork has been ever so kind to list out the endless amount of releases one could expect when making their way through the record store tomorrow. For those wanting to pretend they're in the desert Coachella's set times are listed here.

SXSW: Day One-Warpaint Rules!!!

My SXSW festivities (first-time) began with an overwhelming mixture of excitement, confusion and a mild sense of nervousness unfamiliar of what to expect but confident regardless, I would have the opportunity to see some exciting acts and reunite with familiar faces I have seen in the past. Getting my bearings of Sixth St and laying out the land for Wednesday's day parties, I quickly headed towards The Mohawk for my first show of the week( The Austinist's day party). Taking pause to realize the crowds surrounding a parking garage were enjoying an AOL/Spinner pop up show featuring Broken Bells. The line wasn't too bad quickly squeezing through the packed bar; I am staring up at portraits of bearded men lining the bar (an obvious highlight of the bar, that had similarly bearded men slinging drinks to patrons). The crowd from the previous act's ambient environ depart the tiny room as the Silver Lake, CA quartet known as Warpaint set up for their performance. Definitely a band high on my priority list to see while in Austin, their debut EP, Exquisite Corpse has been on repeat since learning about them in early November. An album, which also made the year's top EP list.

Warpaint-The Mohawk: Austinist Day Party

Without note, music begins with a heavy thumping bass line and a delicately seductive delivery of verse creating a happy, yet funky harmony that has the crowded room dancing along. Almost in a meditative trance the girls establish an aura of ease and comfort. Genuinely one with their instrumentation there is a natural flow and transition in their song that captivates the audience as they seamlessly play into the popular single, “Stars”. Witnessing their music live is much more magical and ethereal than what's recorded as the quartet noticeably have a tendency to allow the music to control the length of play. Vocals are shared between guitarists Emily Kokal and Theresa Wayman; there is a warm contrast in style of delivery that unite in verse in a harmonious fashion. With a concentrated focus on their music the girls continue to play on, keeping an upbeat tempo throughout the set; bassist, Jenny Lee Lindberg spends most of the performance swaying and bouncing in the direction of the drummer, Stella Mozgawa. Stripping away the intensity to expose a gentle stroke on the guitar and a low intangible melody; complimenting the vocals of Kokal's (similar to Portishead's Beth Gibbons) serene and sultry sound with Wayman's (much like Karen O) delivery that has a sharper more punchier insistence. Finally greeting the crowd with a jovial, “how y'all doin'?” the girls take a deep breath noting two more songs and introduce “Elephants”. A song that has a soft onset and ultimately breaks down into a chaotic high tempo congruous explosion of sound. With an array of layers in their music which overlap upon each other transitioning back and forth from soft to heavy, it's nearly a system overload of music chewy center (almost something enjoyed more privately). Already with a yearning desire for more I quickly determine my next opportunity to enjoy the harmonic amalgamation of this Silver Lake, quartet.

Freelance Whales-Galaxy Room: Paste Party

I quickly bolt over to the Galaxy Room on Sixth, where the Freelance Whales are tuning up and a good sized crowd eagerly wait for their set to commence. Sunlight dims through the windows and Paste creator, Josh Jackson arrives on stage to express his excitement and honor to introduce, Freelance Whales. With a pluck at the banjo and orchestrated howls in the air, the set begins with “Generator First Floor” the opening track on their soon to be released debut, Weathervanes. There's a magical sensation that exudes from stage as the quintet from Queens,NY sings in an off-tune synchronized fashion and this rural fantastical tale unravels with each word Judah Dadone sings in verse. Quirky noises and orchestrated melodies ring from the rest of the band as Chuck Criss tings away on the glockenspiel. After a short greeting, Dadone continues with the set punching away at the keyboard. The group exhibits passion and emotion with each breath; resuming their high intensity performance, with second track, “Hannah”. They briefly mention their own excitement to be playing, this is Freelance Whales debut at SXSW. Continuing to play, alternating in tempo with intensive energy and animation on the arsenal of instruments arranged on stage; painting colorful imagery of a farmhouse love story that transitions through a bittersweet narrative emitting a combination of happy and sad simultaneously. Guitar distortion reverberates from Kevin Read's bow as Doris Cellar sways the harmonium back and forth. There's an introverted geek fashion of dance occurring on stage as this quintet continues this sweet saga, singing along eyes closed with affection. The set concludes with the happy sing along “Generator Second Floor” with plenty of the crowd dancing and assisting in vocals. Judah shakes with emotion, as the contrasting beauty of his voice with Cellar's exhibit this romantic magical affection.

Acrylics-Peckerheads: The Music Slut Day Party


Making it inside as the band begins their first notes with Molly Shea singing lead as Travis Rosenburg and Jason Klauber playing along with two additional band members. Im immediately re submerged into this cinematic weaving of layered sounds and romanticized lyrics. Saying hello and comically beckoning the crowd to approach the stage, Jason smoothly bargains for a beer before the music returns. Having a more full-bodied sound with the additional instrumental support while retaining the endearing intimacy present in an old Western love story. Travis delicately brings in the next tune plucking the melody on a slide guitar, before the tempo explodes in a crash of drums with the song's chorus. Jason and Molly quickly dispensing each verse, singing towards a symbiotic bright future. Keeping a conversational connection with the audience, Jason continues to jokingly banter back and forth with the lone howler in the crowd. Ultimately he announces the next song, “Molly's Vertigo” pointing over to Molly introducing her, who bashfully says, “hi”. Contradictory to her shy disposition she sings with excitement and passion exploding with personality on stage deciphering her thoughts and feelings through the song's subject-matter. After quickly swapping guitars and requesting more acoustic, Jason begins strumming a newer song; a sweet love song nostalgic for 70s era duet. This afternoon's set comes to a conclusion with the EP's title track, “All of the Fire”; ending a strong performance for a crowd seemingly unknowing of expectation but in awe with an imminent enjoyment of a lyrically amazing young band.

Finally getting an opportunity to catch my breath and feed my blood sugar level, and returned to the Galaxy Room and patiently wait for Paste's headliner of the day, Frightened Rabbit. The crowd slowly trickles in and begins filling the once emptied room chattering with excitement of the first day's festivities listing the day's parties that topped each other's lists. Keeping patience as it becomes apparent the band's having issues with instruments quickly determining a resolution to make the afternoon's performance worthwhile.

Frightened Rabbit-Galaxy Room:Paste Party

The sun slightly sets through the window dimming the room and the band is ready for their set. Scott Hutchinson wearily greets the audience mentioning equipment malfunction (but more colorfully) explaining they have pieced something together to play with. Apparently affected instrumentation are no big problem as with the crash of Grant's drums the Scottish quintet play a seamless rendition of “The Modern Leper”. Scott asks of our well-being with an excited expression, having success with the makeshift instruments and finally moving onto “Swim Until You Can't See Land”. The crowd cheers and the band eases into the set spotlighting the new direction taken in their most recent release, The Winter of Mixed Drinks. The Scottish band's third album exhibits its evolution as a band slowly gelling as a more united force tackling ambiguous subject matter rather than Hutchinson's past heartbreaks. Dancing about stage, Scott blurts out in his lovable Scottish tongue his tale of new adventures. Still struggling with instrument difficulties, the issue is remedied with the crowd favorite “Old Old Fashioned” The set is turning out to be a happy marriage of previous album's pains and their newer songs which displays the growth that comes along with life lessons. “Living In Colour” another new song beckons for the crowd to clap along; Scott wails with intensity into the air. Seemingly limited with material given the situation, they finish the set with “Keep Yourself Warm”. The music strips down to his pain stricken voice shedding his misery before returning to the upbeat tempo,leaving the crowd roaring for more.

We Were Promised Jetpacks-These Four Walls

We Were Promised Jetpacks are the third most recent band out of Glasgow Scotland, who are gaining quick acclaim and are touring the states with their hometown pals The Twilight Sad and Frightened Rabbit (incidentally the other two Glasgow bands). In contrast of the three bands Jetpacks are a happy medium in style and sound. There is a loudness and adoration for guitar driven rock present in their sound that sometimes can exceed the reputation of the Twilight Sad. At the same time, Adam Thompson is able to beseech our sympathy and find a sort of relatability to the words and themes in his songs, much like Scott Hutchinson of Frightened Rabbit. These Four Walls is the debut album from the Scottish quartet, the band described the title in an interview as something addressing the concept of one’s upbringing and the values instilled by his/her family and the transformation of that home life’s groundwork into its functions as an adult.

“Its Thunder Its Lightning” slowly introduces the listener to the band’s sometimes gloomy but idealistically youthful perspective on life. Thompson’s delivery of lines is a melodious belch of words finding a pleasant harmony with the high-energy up-tempo instrumentation that power drives us through the album. An abundance of catchy hooks and anthem like choruses retain a sing a long quality, creating a difficulty at times to dismiss its continuous presence in your head. “Conductor” the album’s fourth track, slows down the overall pace to exhibit Adam’s stripped down Scottish dialect gently serenading us through the tribulations of his young adult life.
“A Half Built House” much like its title investigates new realms in the band’s direction. It showcases an allusion for post rock qualities creating an instrumental piece hinting at an epic path in the band’s musical intent. Each member’s presence resonates throughout the album, from Darren Lackie’s tribal sounding beat in “Short Bursts” and Sean Smith’s tings on the xylophone, accenting the melodious guitar work by Adam and Michael Palmer. By the concluding tracks of the album, “Keeping Warm”, the band resumes instrumental leg-stretch with a majestically grand build up raising the listener’s spirits while summing up the album’s focus on an introspective reflection on becoming an adult. We are left feeling pity and dealing with our own miseries as scathed heart of lead, Adam is exposed and expressed through is angst ridden, thick Scottish accented, cracking voice declares a final exhalation of affection.

We Were Promised Jetpacks

Jetpacks-Myspace

Monolith Festival: Day 1

The Antlers-WOXY

After what seemed like the longest ten minutes, The Antlers step onto stage comically requesting everyone to watch their language. Melodically commencing with “Bear” Peter softly delivers the opening lines. Swaying back and forth, leading up to Michael’s drums kicking in. Peter’s octave rises along with the band’s intensity. The crowd continues to grow in the tight and compact space where the WOXY stage is situated. Darby’s hair hangs over his eyes, while Peter is on his knees as they transition into the first song’s big ending. Silence is upon us, while Peter switches out his guitar and makes some “Thank Yous”. Drum count, hard smash, Peter hunched, everyone is bouncing to Michael’s tribal beat, distortion rings. Peter leads us into the chorus of “Sylvia”. Touring has already matured their sound since Pitchfork, bringing a darker edge to the music’s tonality. Tempo is high, drums bring a more distinctive quality to the sound. Peter screeching, Sylvia!!! in his last gasp of breath, obvious how emotionally important the subject matter is to him. He softly thanks us before the cymbals crash right into “Kettering”, his guitar play seems looser and more comfortable. The mics break up and the music stops on the crunchy sounding dispense of lyrics.

They restart from the beginning, Peter dances and bounces facing the drum set before he elevates his voice to the next octave. In between songs, Michael graciously mentions how the crowd was definitely worth the 30-hour cross-country drive from New York, Peter follows up with another affable thanks. “Two” begins off with the band leading in with hoots into those familiar first lines “In the middle of the night I was sleeping sitting up..” There really has been a re energization of the context in these songs, creating an overall happier sensation. Tempo rises and the crowd sways and dances. Tempo rises and the crowd sways and dances, before heads are banging and strong playing resumes. The hoots and moans return before Peter strums to a muted end. Silence falls upon us and Peter’s “Epilogue” begins. A more stylistic direction of the set brings this on the whole, celebratory context. The muted instrumentation spotlight Peter’s vocal symphony. Warming feeling rising with the volume. Darby commences the processional hymn, Peter stands in reflection. Michael punches his drums hard, Peter’s shreds return and it becomes a punchy dance to lead us out.

Thao and the Get Down Stay Down- Esurance Stage

The band nonchalantly walks onto stage, welcomed by fans and a steady breeze running through the mountains. Thao Nguyen shakes off her shivers and they begin to play. I was curious to see their stage presence not knowing too much about the band or their sound prior to this weekend. The was comprised primarily of tracks off their most recent album, We Brave Bee Stings and All and few teasers from the upcoming album, Know Better Learn Faster. Only taking up a small portion of the stage but created excitement in the crowd with enjoyable tunes and toe tapping beats. Thao thanks us before commencing a human beat box intro, while plucking at her strings into “Bag of Hammers”. Attracting seemingly a fairly young crowd dancing and shaking around with the band’s joyful folk tinged melodies. In between songs, she tells us of a fond memory of hers at Red Rocks. She had come to see Neil Young at an early age but unfortunately couldn’t remember much of the experience because of the abundance of “whatever” she had smoked. From the new songs they played during their set there was a nice hard beat and an up and down tempo exhibiting a variety of musical influences in its sound. It lead her right into the crowd favorite “Beat” Nguyen sings with a jazzercise standstill dance strumming away. The drummer, Willis Thompson begins to lead the crowd to clap into a clapping chorus. Her sweet raspy delivers each line as a nice harmony of instrumentation with a heavy steady pound on the drums accompanies her. She hoots along as she plays, leading the claps again; apparently a staple in their music. At some point all band members including Nguyen, pull out their drumsticks and start a drum jam, beating at the skins. A faint yelp from Thao is heard and she returns to her guitar. There is a hint of an oriental infusion in the melody that pleasantly compliments the style and aesthetic of their music. Overall, it was a nicely laid out set, playing well to the crowd and exhibiting a brilliant range of sound and emotion.

Frightened Rabbit- Esurance Stage

The crowd begins to file in, as there is a drizzle of rain in the sky. We stand waiting for Scott Hutchinson and crew to finally arrive on stage thanking everyone for their presence. Excited to see another performance since their stint in Chicago for the Pitchfork Festival. “Modern Leper” begins the set with high tempo and comfort ability as Scott easily unravels his emotional aftertaste from a past heartbreak. As the play gets louder, the crowd continues to get larger. “The altitude already has me woozy and I’ve only had one beer”, jokes Hutchinson in that same humorous stage commentary I recall from their previous performance I witnessed. The lyrics he fervently belched reverberates up along the rocks as his heart is laid out on display once again. “Is the rain finished…Fuck It!!! exclaims Scott lightly strums us into “Good Arm vs. Bad Arm”. He screeches along while dancing back and forth with the mic stand, and the rest of the band finds a melody harmonizing with backup Ohs! At one point, he leans back towards the sky while strumming and bring the tempo back up screaming the chorus,” at arms length”. A decent turnout braves the chilly rain as the clouds darken the sky. Tempo raises and the drizzle becomes a steady rainfall. With a plan to split up the hour between Frightened Rabbit and The Pains of Being Pure at Heart, the final song in the set for me began with a misqueue, Scott quick apologizes as his set list just blew away and correcting the error, “Old, Old Fashion”. As I start my hike up the mountain of stairs to the SOCO stage, I see Scott in the distance raising his hands requesting the crowd to participate in the chorus. As I made my way towards the Pains stage, the crowd was sizeable and the energy from stage was as suspected super high tempo, playfully jamming to the rain. Unfortunately, the rain wasn’t in my cards at the moment and listened to their joyful wonderfulness from the distance of the media tent. I was definitely grateful I had the pleasure of enjoying their full set in Chicago earlier in the week.

Rain blew over the venue around the same time as my meeting with various bands to interview and photograph. It was fortuitous in a sense but at the same time, being hyped to finally see Cymbals Eat Guitars I had to unfortunately miss out as capacity was reached at the WOXY stage and the fire marshal did not allow any more entries. Shooting up to the SOCO stage hopefully to ignore the rain and check out The Walkmen who were in midst of the set. Although outside, the crowd was overwhelmingly large and I once again resorted to returning to the media tent, I enjoyed their set from a distance while having the opportunity to meet some really great bands in the process. During that time night fell upon us along with a steady rain.

At some point, I ventured back out into the evening’s sets as the sky continued to fall and a brisk wind blew through the Colorado mountains. Even from a distance the performance on the Esurance stage appeared different and as though a raving party had taken over it. In fact, the mish mash dj, Girl Talk had commenced his set and had invited a stage full of dancers who were getting down to his nasty mixes. The rain did nothing but fuel the energy emitting from and around the stage and in the crowd. Girl Talk’s Greg Gillis stood hunched over two laptops bouncing back and forth with a commanding presence. Admittedly at times I enjoy revisiting his albums on my ipod but in all honesty who wouldn’t mind tiny nostalgic clips of music from their youth. With that said, I’m not sure how seriously I can write about a non-performance act. In appearance I could not tell how much mixing was actually going on, more as steering a booze cruise on stage. I am not sure how long a musical phase like this can last, I guess I could always Wiki Moby and see how long his career lasted before the music scene moved on. If anything Gillis had a great authority on stage at times jumping atop the table dancing and directing the audience as confetti and toilet paper flew into the wet air. He played a nonstop set with countless snippets from his three-album catalog and the endless list of music hits. Rumor has it, he is moving the direction of his music into a more linear fashion that could drastically alter many of the popular facets of his music. If that’s the case I would be intrigued especially if the army of frats lost interest and returned to whatever trend band is looking for a sell out fan base.
This evening’s headliners were the ever so popular trio from Brooklyn,NY, the YeahYeahYeahs, who have definitely made their festival rounds this year. It seems as though the band have not stopped since the release of It’s Blitz, the band’s third album; which found them experimenting with their sound while retaining much of that edge that made them popular in the onset of their career. I was torn at this point, the rain had let up a little, as the stage was being prepared for the evening’s closer. Tiredness had set in and the knowledge of the amount of work still needed to accomplish when returning to the hotel was a looming factor when I made the final decision not to stay for the entire YYYs set. I did however make my way to the pit to enjoy the onset of the evening’s performance from as close as possible and hopefully some shots that would work out.

In the dark mist the band arrives on stage, the familiar opening keys of “Runaway” begin the set as Karen O takes her position readied for what seems like a Hiawatha modern Geisha dance with a Michael Jackson like pink glove donned. There was a fourth member along for the ride, who after further investigation turned out to be the beautiful, Jessica Dobson from the LA band, Deep Sea Diver, who played bass and keyboards and is touring with the band during their popularized summer tour. The few songs played are a blur as I was more focused to capture the perfect image of Karen in all of her glory as her true performance side was naturally emitted as she serenaded us through a nice mix from their album catalog thus far. Just as I remember from their earlier performance in May in the onset of their tour there was still a commanding force in the cohesiveness of their musical skill as fans were beyond excited to just catch a glimpse and sing along with the former art school rockers. I turned one last time to take in the excitement and originality coming off stage before my final hike up those steep stairs to exit and prepare for the following day.

[Live Review] Frightened Rabbit, Chicago, Bottom Lounge, 7.19.09

As the massive amount of crowds and euphoric ridden folk file out of Union Park, from the festival ending set by the Flaming Lips. I lock up my bike and head into the Bottom Lounge to see how Frightened Rabbit has held up since he was on the stage much earlier for the third and final day of the Pitchfork Music Festival. Unfortunately I drew the very short straw and was held up from making it out today, the worst of it was the bulk of the bands I was looking forward to see live all fell on this last day as well. On a positive note, with some diligence and determination it looks as though I will get to see a lot of these same bands either when they return to Chicago for their own tour or when I make my way out to Colorado for this year's Monolith Festival. Regardless, I was fortunate enough to catch Scott Hutchison & gang’s Post Pitchfork show this evening. Unsurprisingly there was a decent crowd all packed in to see the set they either missed or had hoped to build onto from the fun earlier in the day.

Thax arrives to introduce Frightened Rabbit quoting lyrics from “Poke”. The Scots run onto stage exclaiming tiredness and begins with “I Feel Better” they start rather high tempo with no signs of fatigue, continuing what I can assume was a strong set nine hours ago. “Since we’ve played this afternoon, I’ve had a bit of whiskey…perfect cure for a sore throat, and among other things confidence” Scott jokes holding up a bottle in between songs. Much like the brutal honesty of his lyrics, Scott’s delivery is just as visibly painstaking. A drunken Scott makes an enjoyable performer creating a comfortable environment jesting and conversing in between songs. The crowd definitely not a deterrent from the enjoyment of the set, I can imagine this being a better experience for the Pitchfork goers who caught their earlier set; as the band casually throws jokes around coercing everyone for crowd cooperation. WOW!!! “The Modern Leper” has turned this performance up a notch they are such an amazingly gracious band as well. Still becoming familiar with their first album, it was a nice transition to hear something old, “Yawns”. A microphone error occurs but Scott takes it in strides and he casually eases over and resumes his twist.
Obviously inebriated by the drunken ramble throughout the show but not apparent in their performance as it flows seamlessly all the way through this cozily crowded lounge. The crowd’s yells and requests are offhandedly responded to; and then leading into the ninth song ”My Backwards Walk” of the set, the drunken error finally occurs. Scott shrugs it off with a laugh claiming it had to occur at some point. With the loud chants, “Music Now!!!” begins, and this experience has definitely reached that musical nirvana where all sensories are reached by the spine tingling performance on stage. That song demands you to sweet talk the next random girl to the backroom and make out with her, per suggestion of the random girl next to me. I clarified that wasn’t a blatant suggestion for the two of us to disappear for the remainder of the set. There is such a high intensity and this rhythmic awesomeness present as the set comes to a conclusion with Scott dancing a jig about stage and the drum skins being pounded. After a relentless plead, stomp and chant from the audience Scott returns with his acoustic guitar in hand letting us know his gratitude and he was going to play something new. “Swim Until you Can’t See Land”, has an overall feeling of loneliness, solitude and disparity, from what Ive read definite aspect that will be present in their upcoming album. Finishing the evening off with another gracious thanks and promising to soon return prior to bringing the house down with the crowd pleasing “Keep Yourself Warm”. For obvious reasons it would take a lot to make up for the missed line up of Pitchfork but at least this year’s festival experience ended on a very high note with an amazing performance from a great band.

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