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The fourth full-length record from Scotland's indie rock folksters Frightened Rabbit arrives with a few question marks over it, and not only because it's their first to be released through Atlantic Records -- the major label the band flew Fat Cat's independent nest for in 2010. While the first two Frightened Rabbit albums grabbed the attention of the listener with urgency and honesty, forgetting the notion of polish along the way, the third went for less lyrical heartstring pulling and more grandiosity. Polish was most definitely in, but Scott Hutchison's loveable habit of airing his laundry in public seemed to have been put on hold. The omission of this key ingredient on The Winter of Mixed Drinks made for a decrease in longevity when compared with fan favorite The Midnight Organ Fight. For Pedestrian Verse, the singer/guitarist welcomed the rest of the band into the writing process for the first time to share the burden. Producer Leo Abrahams would be a key ally too, reigning in their ideas to help create the dynamics that would give each song the space to rise and fall when necessary. The resulting record sounds as good as 2010’s The Winter of Mixed Drinks, yet pleasingly is also as lyrically affecting as their earlier work, if a little less bloodied and bruised. Managing to be musically uplifting within the most downtrodden scenarios, Frightened Rabbit's ability to build imagery you can almost reach out and touch is as strong as ever on Pedestrian Verse. On "Backyard Skulls," you are pulled close to be told "All our secrets are smothered in dirt/Underneath paving stones/Lying waiting to be told," a metaphor that Scott Hutchison's Scottish tone somehow makes sound literal in the way it has done since 2006's Sing the Greys. Elsewhere, the driving, joyous "Holy" is a contender for the best song Arcade Fire never wrote, while "State Hospital" is the only track from 2012's EP of the same name that makes the cut. It's one of the highlights here, boasting a great deal of space between instruments, allowing the refrain ("Her heart beats like a breezeblock thrown down the stairs/Her blood is thicker than concrete/Forced to be brave/She was born into a grave") to arrive with maximum impact, the guitars building among the reverb-drenched drums, with Hutchison at his poetic best. Although produced like you'd expect a major-label album to be, there is nothing to suggest that Pedestrian Verse wouldn't sound just as good in lo-fi surroundings. The songwriting is the driving force behind the album, and any reservations about whether or not Frightened Rabbit would transform into radio-friendly M.O.R. are swept away, although "Dead Now" is a rare moment that passes by without much incident. As the playful guitars of superb closer "The Oil Slick" gradually mold into something slightly darker, along with the typically poignant "We've still got hope so I think we'll be fine/In these disastrous times," there is a sense that the band is more at ease than ever, and sounding anything but pedestrian for it.
© Daniel Clancy /TiVo
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Craig Silvey, Mixer - Tchad Blake, Recorded by - Leo Abrahams, Producer, Recorded by - Mandy Parnell, Masterer - Frightened Rabbit, Writer, MainArtist - Andy Monaghan, Guitar, Keyboards - Billy Kennedy, Bass Guitar, Backing Vocals - Grant Hutchison, Drums, Percussion, Backing Vocals - Gordon Skene, Guitar, Percussion, Piano, Backing Vocals - Scott Hutchison, Guitar, Lead Vocals - Scott Hutchinson, Lyricist
This release, © 2013 Warner Music UK Limited. ℗ 2013 Warner Music UK Ltd
Craig Silvey, Mixer - Tchad Blake, Recorded by - Leo Abrahams, Producer, Recorded by - Mandy Parnell, Masterer - Frightened Rabbit, Writer, MainArtist - Andy Monaghan, Guitar, Keyboards - Billy Kennedy, Bass Guitar, Backing Vocals - Grant Hutchison, Drums, Percussion, Backing Vocals - Gordon Skene, Guitar, Percussion, Piano, Backing Vocals - Scott Hutchison, Guitar, Lead Vocals - Scott Hutchinson, Lyricist - Liam Ross, Additional Recording
This release, © 2013 Warner Music UK Limited. ℗ 2013 Warner Music UK Ltd
Craig Silvey, Mixer - Tchad Blake, Recorded by - Leo Abrahams, Producer, Recorded by - Mandy Parnell, Masterer - Frightened Rabbit, Writer, MainArtist - Andy Monaghan, Guitar, Keyboards - Billy Kennedy, Bass Guitar, Backing Vocals - Grant Hutchison, Drums, Percussion, Backing Vocals - Gordon Skene, Guitar, Percussion, Piano, Backing Vocals - Scott Hutchison, Guitar, Lead Vocals - Scott Hutchinson, Lyricist
This release, © 2013 Warner Music UK Limited. ℗ 2013 Warner Music UK Ltd
Craig Silvey, Mixer - Leo Abrahams, Producer - Cameron Craig, Recorder - Frightened Rabbit, Writer, MainArtist - Andy Monaghan, Guitar, Keyboards - Billy Kennedy, Bass Guitar, Backing Vocals - Grant Hutchison, Drums, Percussion, Backing Vocals - Gordon Skene, Guitar, Percussion, Piano, Backing Vocals - Scott Hutchison, Guitar, Lead Vocals - Scott Hutchinson, Lyricist
This release, © 2013 Warner Music UK Limited. ℗ 2013 Warner Music UK Ltd
Craig Silvey, Mixer - Tchad Blake, Recorded by - Leo Abrahams, Producer, Recorded by - Mandy Parnell, Masterer - Frightened Rabbit, Writer, MainArtist - Andy Monaghan, Guitar, Keyboards - Billy Kennedy, Bass Guitar, Backing Vocals - Grant Hutchison, Drums, Percussion, Backing Vocals - Paul Gallagher, Recorder - Gordon Skene, Guitar, Percussion, Piano, Backing Vocals - Scott Hutchison, Guitar, Lead Vocals
This release, © 2013 Warner Music UK Limited. ℗ 2013 Warner Music UK Ltd
Craig Silvey, Mixer - Tchad Blake, Recorded by - Leo Abrahams, Producer, Recorded by - Mandy Parnell, Masterer - Frightened Rabbit, Writer, MainArtist - Andy Monaghan, Guitar, Keyboards - Billy Kennedy, Bass Guitar, Backing Vocals - Grant Hutchison, Drums, Percussion, Backing Vocals - Gordon Skene, Guitar, Percussion, Piano, Backing Vocals - Scott Hutchison, Guitar, Lead Vocals
This release, © 2013 Warner Music UK Limited. ℗ 2013 Warner Music UK Ltd
Craig Silvey, Mixer - Leo Abrahams, Producer, Recorded by - Frightened Rabbit, Writer, MainArtist - Andy Monaghan, Guitar, Keyboards - Billy Kennedy, Bass Guitar, Backing Vocals - Grant Hutchison, Drums, Percussion, Backing Vocals - Gordon Skene, Guitar, Percussion, Piano, Backing Vocals - Scott Hutchison, Guitar, Lead Vocals - Mandy Pharnell, Masterer
This release, © 2013 Warner Music UK Limited. ℗ 2013 Warner Music UK Ltd
Craig Silvey, Mixer - Leo Abrahams, Producer - Mandy Parnell, Masterer - Frightened Rabbit, Writer, MainArtist - Andy Monaghan, Guitar, Keyboards - Billy Kennedy, Bass Guitar, Backing Vocals - Grant Hutchison, Drums, Percussion, Backing Vocals - Gordon Skene, Guitar, Percussion, Piano, Backing Vocals - Scott Hutchison, Guitar, Lead Vocals
This release, © 2013 Warner Music UK Limited. ℗ 2013 Warner Music UK Ltd
Craig Silvey, Mixer - Leo Abrahams, Producer - Mandy Parnell, Masterer - Frightened Rabbit, Writer, MainArtist - Andy Monaghan, Guitar, Keyboards - Billy Kennedy, Bass Guitar, Backing Vocals - Grant Hutchison, Drums, Percussion, Backing Vocals - Gordon Skene, Guitar, Percussion, Piano, Backing Vocals - Scott Hutchison, Guitar, Lead Vocals
This release, © 2013 Warner Music UK Limited. ℗ 2012 Warner Music UK Ltd
Craig Silvey, Mixer - Tchad Blake, Recorded by - Leo Abrahams, Producer, Recorded by - Mandy Parnell, Masterer - Frightened Rabbit, Writer, MainArtist - Andy Monaghan, Guitar, Keyboards - Billy Kennedy, Bass Guitar, Backing Vocals - Grant Hutchison, Drums, Percussion, Backing Vocals - Gordon Skene, Guitar, Percussion, Piano, Backing Vocals - Scott Hutchison, Guitar, Lead Vocals
This release, © 2013 Warner Music UK Limited. ℗ 2013 Warner Music UK Ltd
Craig Silvey, Mixer - Leo Abrahams, Producer, Recorded by - Mandy Parnell, Masterer - Frightened Rabbit, Writer, MainArtist - Andy Monaghan, Guitar, Keyboards - Billy Kennedy, Bass Guitar, Backing Vocals - Grant Hutchison, Drums, Percussion, Backing Vocals - Gordon Skene, Guitar, Percussion, Piano, Backing Vocals - Scott Hutchison, Guitar, Lead Vocals
This release, © 2013 Warner Music UK Limited. ℗ 2013 Warner Music UK Ltd
Craig Silvey, Mixer - Tchad Blake, Recorded by - Leo Abrahams, Producer, Recorded by - Mandy Parnell, Masterer - Frightened Rabbit, Writer, MainArtist - Andy Monaghan, Guitar, Keyboards - Billy Kennedy, Bass Guitar, Backing Vocals - Grant Hutchison, Drums, Percussion, Backing Vocals - Gordon Skene, Guitar, Percussion, Piano, Backing Vocals - Scott Hutchison, Guitar, Lead Vocals
This release, © 2013 Warner Music UK Limited. ℗ 2013 Warner Music UK Ltd
Craig Silvey, Mixer - Mandy Parnell, Masterer - Frightened Rabbit, Producer, Writer, MainArtist - Andy Monaghan, Guitar, Keyboards - Billy Kennedy, Bass Guitar, Backing Vocals - Grant Hutchison, Drums, Percussion, Backing Vocals - Gordon Skene, Guitar, Percussion, Piano, Backing Vocals - Scott Hutchison, Guitar, Lead Vocals
This release, © 2013 Warner Music UK Limited. ℗ 2013 Warner Music UK Ltd
Craig Silvey, Mixer - Tchad Blake, Recorded by - Leo Abrahams, Producer, Recorded by - Mandy Parnell, Masterer - Frightened Rabbit, Writer, MainArtist - Andy Monaghan, Guitar, Keyboards - Billy Kennedy, Bass Guitar, Backing Vocals - Grant Hutchison, Drums, Percussion, Backing Vocals - Gordon Skene, Guitar, Percussion, Piano, Backing Vocals - Scott Hutchison, Guitar, Lead Vocals
This release, © 2013 Warner Music UK Limited. ℗ 2013 Warner Music UK Ltd
Mandy Parnell, Masterer - Bryan Wilson, Mixer - Frightened Rabbit, Producer, Writer, MainArtist - Andy Monaghan, Guitar, Keyboards - Billy Kennedy, Bass Guitar, Backing Vocals - Grant Hutchison, Drums, Percussion, Backing Vocals - Gordon Skene, Guitar, Percussion, Piano, Backing Vocals - Scott Hutchison, Guitar, Lead Vocals
This release, © 2013 Warner Music UK Limited. ℗ 2013 Warner Music UK Ltd
Guy Davie, Masterer - Frightened Rabbit, Producer, Writer, MainArtist - Andy Monaghan, Guitar, Keyboards - Billy Kennedy, Bass Guitar, Backing Vocals - Grant Hutchison, Drums, Percussion, Backing Vocals - Gordon Skene, Guitar, Percussion, Piano, Backing Vocals - Scott Hutchison, Guitar, Lead Vocals - Scott Hutchinson, Lyricist - Eduardo De La Paz, Mixer - Marcus Mackay, Recorded by
This release, © 2013 Warner Music UK Limited. ℗ 2013 Warner Music UK Ltd
Guy Davie, Masterer - Frightened Rabbit, Producer, Writer, MainArtist - Andy Monaghan, Guitar, Keyboards - Billy Kennedy, Bass Guitar, Backing Vocals - Grant Hutchison, Drums, Percussion, Backing Vocals - Gordon Skene, Guitar, Percussion, Piano, Backing Vocals - Scott Hutchison, Guitar, Lead Vocals - Scott Hutchinson, Lyricist - Eduardo De La Paz, Mixer - Marcus Mackay, Recorded by
This release, © 2013 Warner Music UK Limited. ℗ 2013 Warner Music UK Ltd
Guy Davie, Masterer - Bryan Wilson, Mixer - Frightened Rabbit, Producer, Writer, MainArtist - Andy Monaghan, Guitar, Keyboards - Billy Kennedy, Bass Guitar, Backing Vocals - Grant Hutchison, Drums, Percussion, Backing Vocals - Gordon Skene, Guitar, Percussion, Piano, Backing Vocals - Scott Hutchison, Guitar, Lead Vocals - Scott Hutchinson, Lyricist - Marcus Mackay, Recorded by
This release, © 2013 Warner Music UK Limited. ℗ 2013 Warner Music UK Ltd
Manchester Orchestra, Producer, Lead Vocals, Writer - Andy Hull, Mixer - Frightened Rabbit, Producer, Lead Vocals, Writer - Andy Monaghan, Guitar, Keyboards - Billy Kennedy, Bass Guitar, Backing Vocals - Grant Hutchison, Drums, Percussion, Backing Vocals - Gordon Skene, Guitar, Percussion, Piano, Backing Vocals - Scott Hutchison, Guitar, Lead Vocals - Brad Fisher, Mixer - Nick Day, Engineer, Recorded by - Manchester Orchestra, Frightened Rabbit, MainArtist
This release, © 2013 Warner Music UK Limited. ℗ 2013 Warner Music UK Ltd
Mandy Parnell, Masterer - Jim Reid, Writer - Bryan Wilson, Mixer - Frightened Rabbit, Producer - Andy Monaghan, Guitar, Keyboards - Billy Kennedy, Bass Guitar, Backing Vocals - Grant Hutchison, Drums, Percussion, Backing Vocals - Gordon Skene, Guitar, Percussion, Piano, Backing Vocals - Scott Hutchison, Guitar, Lead Vocals - Lau, Vocals - Violet Jacob, Poet - Marcus McKay, Recorded by - Frightened Rabbit & LAU, MainArtist
This release, © 2013 Warner Music UK Limited. ℗ 2013 Warner Music UK Ltd
Bryan Wilson, Mixer - Frightened Rabbit, Producer, Writer, MainArtist - Andy Monaghan, Guitar, Keyboards - Billy Kennedy, Bass Guitar, Backing Vocals - Grant Hutchison, Drums, Percussion, Backing Vocals - Gordon Skene, Guitar, Percussion, Piano, Backing Vocals - Scott Hutchison, Guitar, Lead Vocals - Scott Hutchinson, Lyricist - Phil Parsons, Recorded by
This release, © 2013 Warner Music UK Limited. ℗ 2013 Warner Music UK Ltd
Bryan Wilson, Mixer - Frightened Rabbit, Producer, Writer, MainArtist - Andy Monaghan, Guitar, Keyboards - Billy Kennedy, Bass Guitar, Backing Vocals - Grant Hutchison, Drums, Percussion, Backing Vocals - Gordon Skene, Guitar, Percussion, Piano, Backing Vocals - Scott Hutchison, Guitar, Lead Vocals - Scott Hutchinson, Lyricist - Phil Parsons, Recorded by
This release, © 2013 Warner Music UK Limited. ℗ 2013 Warner Music UK Ltd
Geoff Allan, Recorded by - Bryan Wilson, Mixer - Frightened Rabbit, Producer, Writer, MainArtist - Andy Monaghan, Guitar, Keyboards - Billy Kennedy, Bass Guitar, Backing Vocals - Grant Hutchison, Drums, Percussion, Backing Vocals - Gordon Skene, Guitar, Percussion, Piano, Backing Vocals - Scott Hutchison, Guitar, Lead Vocals
This release, © 2013 Warner Music UK Limited. ℗ 2013 Warner Music UK Ltd
Album review
The fourth full-length record from Scotland's indie rock folksters Frightened Rabbit arrives with a few question marks over it, and not only because it's their first to be released through Atlantic Records -- the major label the band flew Fat Cat's independent nest for in 2010. While the first two Frightened Rabbit albums grabbed the attention of the listener with urgency and honesty, forgetting the notion of polish along the way, the third went for less lyrical heartstring pulling and more grandiosity. Polish was most definitely in, but Scott Hutchison's loveable habit of airing his laundry in public seemed to have been put on hold. The omission of this key ingredient on The Winter of Mixed Drinks made for a decrease in longevity when compared with fan favorite The Midnight Organ Fight. For Pedestrian Verse, the singer/guitarist welcomed the rest of the band into the writing process for the first time to share the burden. Producer Leo Abrahams would be a key ally too, reigning in their ideas to help create the dynamics that would give each song the space to rise and fall when necessary. The resulting record sounds as good as 2010’s The Winter of Mixed Drinks, yet pleasingly is also as lyrically affecting as their earlier work, if a little less bloodied and bruised. Managing to be musically uplifting within the most downtrodden scenarios, Frightened Rabbit's ability to build imagery you can almost reach out and touch is as strong as ever on Pedestrian Verse. On "Backyard Skulls," you are pulled close to be told "All our secrets are smothered in dirt/Underneath paving stones/Lying waiting to be told," a metaphor that Scott Hutchison's Scottish tone somehow makes sound literal in the way it has done since 2006's Sing the Greys. Elsewhere, the driving, joyous "Holy" is a contender for the best song Arcade Fire never wrote, while "State Hospital" is the only track from 2012's EP of the same name that makes the cut. It's one of the highlights here, boasting a great deal of space between instruments, allowing the refrain ("Her heart beats like a breezeblock thrown down the stairs/Her blood is thicker than concrete/Forced to be brave/She was born into a grave") to arrive with maximum impact, the guitars building among the reverb-drenched drums, with Hutchison at his poetic best. Although produced like you'd expect a major-label album to be, there is nothing to suggest that Pedestrian Verse wouldn't sound just as good in lo-fi surroundings. The songwriting is the driving force behind the album, and any reservations about whether or not Frightened Rabbit would transform into radio-friendly M.O.R. are swept away, although "Dead Now" is a rare moment that passes by without much incident. As the playful guitars of superb closer "The Oil Slick" gradually mold into something slightly darker, along with the typically poignant "We've still got hope so I think we'll be fine/In these disastrous times," there is a sense that the band is more at ease than ever, and sounding anything but pedestrian for it.
© Daniel Clancy /TiVo
About the album
- 1 disc(s) - 23 track(s)
- Total length: 01:23:31
- Main artists: Frightened Rabbit
- Label: Atlantic Records UK
- Genre: Pop/Rock Rock Alternative & Indie
This release, © 2013 Warner Music UK Limited. This release, ℗ 2023 Warner Music UK Limited
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