IT’S hard to imagine that Scott Hutchison could have known the profound impact that he would have on the music world when he first assumed the moniker of ‘Frightened Rabbit’.
Derived from one of his musical heroes in Manchester’s Badly Drawn Boy and cosigned by his mother on account of his retiring nature, it would take only a few short years before that name would become synonymous with the beautiful, affecting material that they would become so renowned for.
After his brother Grant joined the ranks on drums and began the process of the metamorphosis from bedroom project and into fully fledged band, it would take a further two years before they would find a third member in the form of guitarist Billy Kennedy and soon things would be kicked into high gear.
In spite of the fact that they’d grown up side by side, the two brothers had never deemed the concept of playing together to be something worth exploring. In an interview with The Portland Mercury, the singer/songwriter explained that their unique brand of synergy is something that quickly became an integral cog in the band:
“I’ve definitely been told by the people that come see us live, that because we play as a two-piece, and we’re brothers, there’s a kind of telepathy. You know, it sounds boring technical talk, but he kind of asks for, like, the thing that he plays off is my guitar and the thing that I play off is his, kind of, kick. So, still, even though there’s a full band setup, it’s a lot about the two of us, and the way we kind of put things together rhythmically.”
Eventually finding a label in the form of renowned Glasgow-based tastemakers Hits The Fan (who also brought us the formative releases from artists such as Kathryn Joseph and JR Green), their debut album Sings The Greys would exhibit all of the early hallmarks of the success that they would one day attain. A phenomenal opening gambit that no newer convert should overlook, the record received stellar reviews from publications on both sides of the pond and would cement their position as a group that were earmarked for something special.
Gigs at industry events such as SXSW would help to further their presence in the US and it is in the seaport town of Bridgeport, Connecticut where the band would lay down on the most seminal records in their back catalogue. A record that truly catapulted them from a burgeoning talent and into a fully fledged phenomenon, The Midnight Organ Fight is comprised of 14 tracks of deeply moving material that can reduce you to tears and then make you smile broadly within the space of a minute. Exercising Hutchison’s poetic flourish like never before, tracks such as ‘My Backwards Walk’, ‘Keep Yourself Warm’ and ‘Poke’ rank alongside the finest music they’ve produced over the course of their career. An album that approaches everything from sex to religion, mental health issues and a litany of other subjects with a frankness that other artists wouldn’t dare to provide an audience with, it would instantly boost their profile and led to a tour with one of Scott’s favourite bands in Death Cab For Cutie.
2010 would see the release of The Winter Of Mixed Drinks and it was to be their final release on an indie label before the major labels would come calling. Inking a deal with none other than the renowned Atlantic Records. Although there’s always the classic trope that major label intervention is the death knell for creativity, an interview with the Herald revealed that the American behemoth gave them the space that they needed to work:
“A lot of the guts of the record came from us in a room playing live, which is the first time we’ve done that. So we needed time to bring the songs to a boiling point. It also taught us to be a bit more brutal about what we put in the bin. [Producer] Leo Abrahams was really important for that. He introduced us to his attitude which was like, ‘if it’s not doing anything, if it’s not contributing, it has to go’. We cut the songs down from 20 to 11. And in that sense, while it’s not a sparse album, it’s certainly more concise and decisive than our previous records.”
The resulting record: Pedestrian Verse, is every bit as unrestrained as those that preceded it and was met with a rapturous response upon its emergence in February of 2013.
Never a group that makes a record purely just to release new material, the band would undergo a hiatus in which Scott Hutchison would adopt the guise of ‘Owl John’ and produce an album that is stunning in its own right.
In 2016, the band would re-emerge as a revitalised force on the truly moving Painting Of A Panic Attack. Produced by Aaron Dessner of The National, the record is among the most personal and poignant depictions of the human psyche that has ever been produced. Celebrated with a massive worldwide tour, the group would celebrate with a series of glorious homecoming shows at Glasgow’s Barrowland Ballroom that reaffirmed their stature as giant in this nation’s musical fabric.
Set to headline Electric Fields at Drumlanrig Castle in September, their set is another triumphant victory lap for a band that has consistently proved themselves to be capable of producing their own brand of anthemic music that is at once euphoric and thought provoking. Sure to be an amalgamation of all of the eras that have been discussed, it’s a set that simply cannot be missed.
Tickets for Electric Fields are available now with the final tier arriving very soon.
