Selkirk's very own internationally recognised Scottish artist happens to be one
of Scotland's finest since the days of The Jesus & Mary Chain, Primal
Scream and Mogwai. Frightened Rabbit are arguably the best songwriters to come
out of Scotland in a very long time, they most certainly play some of the best
indie rock / indie folk music in the United Kingdom. It's their first album to
be released on Atlantic Records after a very successful stint with Brighton's
independent label Fat Cat. Frightened Rabbit's fourth album will be released
next month and is called Pedestrian Verse. A track called "State Hospital" has already been released as both an EP and as a pre-release
single, major label tactics right there. Yes, Pedestrian Verse does have
a deluxe edition with three bonus tracks, which I will not be reviewing any
time soon. "The Woodpile" is second pre-release single released by
Frightened Rabbit, and will be track four on the album.
Although the video is absolutely stunning, we're not here to review a music video. "The Woodpile" starts with a steady drum pattern and light bass / guitar. Production has been taken care of by both Frightened Rabbit and Leo Abrahams, a familiar name when it comes to album production. The track builds up with more vigorous guitars and vocals by Scott Hutchison. His brother Grant delivers the percussion in a rudely fashion. The D.I.Y aesthetics Frightened Rabbit once followed is still present, even with three albums under their belt and a major record deal with Atlantic. Just one listen to this track makes you wonder what the fuck Veronica Falls drummer is doing. The guitars have compassion over the lyrics and the bass follows suit. Scott's vocals are as Scottish as can be, similar sounding to that of The Twilight Sad's James Graham.
"The Woodpile" is an interesting track by the Scottish rockers Frightened
Rabbit. It's not every year a decent Scottish band comes out with an album,
what with Franz Ferdinand on their lunch breaks and Primal Scream without an
album in five years. Pedestrian Verse is unlikely to be as grand as Frightened
Rabbit's spectacular second album The Midnight Organ Fight, but it
sounds like it could be a sweet surprise after their third album's mediocrity.
~Eddie
