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Review - Frightened Rabbit: The Midnight Organ Fight |
The Midnight Organ Fight
Fat Cat Records
Vulnerability is a difficult emotion for an artist to convey through music. There's a sense of emotional distance that's understood when a singer stands behind his microphone or a guitarist strums away at his instrument; it implies that these are untouchable performers who have no time for love or emotion. This disconnect is not true of Glasgow indie rock outfit Frightened Rabbit. Known for wearing masks or hoods in their earlier press photos, the band has come out of its shell only slightly for the release of this, their sophomore album. It features a new, additional guitarist, and the band now appears naked (meaning “in turtlenecks, without masks”) in press packages. This stripped-down, more genuine personal image is right in line with the delicate intensity of The Midnight Organ Fight.
Due to its fuller sound than their sleepy-but-excellent debut Sing the Greys, The Midnight Organ Fight marks an evolution toward more tender and, ultimately, more soul-baring music. Scott Hutchison sounds like a combination between Conor Oberst and a more-authentic Death Cab, with a penchant for realism and honesty as opposed to wordy surrealism and abstract concepts. There is no great war or grand fight in the music of Frightened Rabbit, but it’s clear that their personal problems are so menacing and spirit-crushing that the listener can once again be reminded of every great heartbreak they have incurred.
It’s easy to imagine Hutchinson fighting back tears and singing through gritted teeth on cuts like “The Twist”, which features lyrics such as “Whisper the wrong name/I don’t care nor do my ears/Twist yourself around me/I need company, I need human heat”. The band’s emotions are so wholly on display that any distance between listener and performer is breached. The vocals appear high in the mix, taking aback the listener with their brutal honesty and stark vulnerability, something modern indie rock, laden with irony and falseness, seems to severely lack.
Astonishingly, few people seem to have heard of Frightened Rabbit. While it might be partially due to the band’s reluctance to package and sell their brand of confessional pop, this record will most definitely serve as a turning point for a group that will ultimately find success in penning tracks about real feelings. This is not the abstract love and unattainable emotions of groups like Coldplay. Hutchison stops just short of naming the girl who has so wronged him, and he has been very vocal in interviews that the lyrics and songs are specific and centered around one specific breakup. This authenticity definitely comes through in the songs on this album. Regardless of your own emotional or relational state, any listener will be able to seek solace with The Midnight Organ Fight.
-John Bradley
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