Post by Sean on May 16, 2010 19:15:23 GMT
Frightened Rabbit, The Winter Of Mixed Drinks
FatCat
*****
After previous album The Midnight Organ Fight acquired critical acclaim across the world, the follow up album was always going to be extremely difficult to pull off. It may come as a surprise that Frightened Rabbit may just have done exactly that, somehow created a record that is superior to the impossibly good second album. The album opener appears with distorted guitars, painting as bleak a picture as the song intends as it is one the questions life, and human existence and is lyrically stunning. Next we see some optimism, with Swim Until You Can't See Land, the early single by the band. It seems to be an album that you really could sit down with and analyze over and over, but the beauty of it is that you don't need to do that. You become so enthused and interested in the record you forget your surroundings and sink into the world of Scott Hutchinson, providing his emotive vocals once again in the album. The next few songs are arena sized chants, songs that could be played at festivals and not sound out of place with anything Kings Of Leon are playing. Despite this, you don't feel that it's an album of any typical arena band. While aforementioned Kings Of Leon are screaming about sex being on fire, Frightened Rabbit are singing about suicide, though in a reflective way where you believe depression has been beaten. (Not Miserable). Nothing Like You is a great indie song, while Skip The Youth speaks for a nation of teenagers, fed up with being young, with a two minute build up and epic climax with the brilliantly worded desperate shouts of 'skip the youth, it's ageing me too much'. The album mellows out with slower songs, still as good as the faster more instant ones, with the exception of Living In Colour, which is the standout song and one of the best the band have done while in existence. The album as a whole not only takes you on a journey through a fictional struggle, it helps you contemplate some of the bigger worries in life, for example never feeling good enough, or worrying about existence. Lyrically it furthermore proves Hutchinsons' status as surely one of the most underrated lyricists around, and musically it takes Frightened Rabbit further than they've been before.
FatCat
*****
After previous album The Midnight Organ Fight acquired critical acclaim across the world, the follow up album was always going to be extremely difficult to pull off. It may come as a surprise that Frightened Rabbit may just have done exactly that, somehow created a record that is superior to the impossibly good second album. The album opener appears with distorted guitars, painting as bleak a picture as the song intends as it is one the questions life, and human existence and is lyrically stunning. Next we see some optimism, with Swim Until You Can't See Land, the early single by the band. It seems to be an album that you really could sit down with and analyze over and over, but the beauty of it is that you don't need to do that. You become so enthused and interested in the record you forget your surroundings and sink into the world of Scott Hutchinson, providing his emotive vocals once again in the album. The next few songs are arena sized chants, songs that could be played at festivals and not sound out of place with anything Kings Of Leon are playing. Despite this, you don't feel that it's an album of any typical arena band. While aforementioned Kings Of Leon are screaming about sex being on fire, Frightened Rabbit are singing about suicide, though in a reflective way where you believe depression has been beaten. (Not Miserable). Nothing Like You is a great indie song, while Skip The Youth speaks for a nation of teenagers, fed up with being young, with a two minute build up and epic climax with the brilliantly worded desperate shouts of 'skip the youth, it's ageing me too much'. The album mellows out with slower songs, still as good as the faster more instant ones, with the exception of Living In Colour, which is the standout song and one of the best the band have done while in existence. The album as a whole not only takes you on a journey through a fictional struggle, it helps you contemplate some of the bigger worries in life, for example never feeling good enough, or worrying about existence. Lyrically it furthermore proves Hutchinsons' status as surely one of the most underrated lyricists around, and musically it takes Frightened Rabbit further than they've been before.
