Every now and then you run into a little batch of songs that are truly unbreakable. The Fray did this for us last year, and as much as I hate to admit it I’m fairly certain I will never ever get sick of “Stop & Stare” from One Republic despite the fact that it’s playing every time I walk through the lobby at work.
“The Modern Leper” is track one on the Midnight Organ Fight record from Frightened Rabbit. Simply put it truly explodes off the page. “The Modern Leper” is pure magic. It gets you to lean in from the start with the awkward and picturesque lyric, “cripple walks amongst you, all you tired human beings. He’s got all the things a cripple has not working arms and legs.” Lead singer Scott Hutchison sounds like Adam Duritz if no one broke his heart. “The Modern Leper” is a steady crescendo working towards the heights of a cinematic swell by the one-minute mark. If you make compilation CDs for your friends, look no further as this should be your first track on the annual music mix. The prairie guitar strum combined with grinding of the gears will have you out of your seat by the time they hit the “is that you in front of me” bridge, white capping their way through lyrics like “you must be a masochist.” But the real beauty of “The Modern Leper” is you can keep winding it up because this song will pop off for you time and time again like Old Faithful. Wow. The full-bodied sound of “The Modern Leper” is not to be appreciated by everyone, but will be truly savored by the music lover.
And it doesn’t stop there. “I Feel Better” features a great up-tempo intro. “I Feel Better” puts the throttle down and keeps chugging ahead with gusto. Frightened Rabbit remind me a bit of the band James in their heyday, as every song seems to have oversized ambition and heart. But like James there is a sense these guys won’t be discovered. From the way the album jacket looks to the complex dark beer rock they fill their second record with, I’m not sure MTV or radio would know what to make of Frightened Rabbit as they are truly neither hide or hare.
The long Os of Hutchison’s vocal made me wonder where Frightened Rabbit hail from, turns out they’re Scottish. British without the attitude I suppose. Songs like “Good Arms Vs. Bad Arms” don’t show much save for a little guitar flex from Hutchison towards the end as if he just wants us to know he can.
It’s not until “Old Old Fashioned” that we get another track worthy of being set next to “The Modern Leper.” On “Old Old Fashioned” Frightened Rabbit channel Snow Patrol with a bit more country bend. The message is a good one as Hutchison encourages his lover to turn off the television because they never talk asking her to kick it old school, “If I get old old fashioned, would you get old fashioned with me?” A nice combination of message and music coming together right here.
Frightened Rabbit remind me a lot of the spring of 2004. I was living in England with my family and every time I turned on Virgin radio it seemed they were opening another fresh can of crisp guitar rock. Snow Patrol and Keane were burning up the airwaves back then, and Frightened Rabbit appear to be on their front foot like those bands from nearly five years ago.
“The Twist” sounds like the single, but for my money it’s trying a bit too hard. Unlike the rest of the record that has a nice head on it, “The Twist” is a bit too art directed and contained. I tend to prefer the passion from earlier on. Frightened Rabbit sound best when they’re slightly off the rails.
Even on a one-minute instrumental like “Bright Pink Bookmark,” Frightened Rabbit show they’re more than capable of creating anticipation for what is to come. The squeaks of the orchestra here sound like a band stretching out their hamstrings before a long run.
Hutchison really has a great vocal and the occasional haunting lyric. Mixed with the big guitars Frightened Rabbit are a force to be reckoning with. You can see what the band is capable of in glimpses on songs like “My Backwards Walk” that don’t go all the way but seem to indicate creative range.
The last of the gems on their second record is “Keep Yourself Warm” with its spoken like a sailor lyrics, “It takes more than fucking someone you don’t know to keep warm.” “Keep Yourself Warm” is a torrid encounter between two medicated individuals. But the sloppy mess here sounds good enough to call her the next morning. “Keep Yourself Warm” builds all the way to Bellagio fountain blasts towards the end and the memorable shout-out, “see in the dark.”
The strength of Frightened Rabbit is that nearly ever track is completely listenable. But it’s songs like “The Modern Leper,” “Old Old Fashioned,” and “Keep Yourself Warm” that truly demonstrate the boys from Scotland have a few tricks up their sleeve.
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