The theme of a love lost is one oft-tread in the world of popular music. In 1969 the Jackson 5 sang that: “Trying to live without your love is one long sleepless night,” in 1988 Bananarama’s polished pop called out: “I want you back, don’t care what I have to do,” and in 2008 Frightened Rabbit’s Scott Hutchinson spat: “You’re the shit and I’m knee deep in it.” The Midnight Organ Fight dealt with the break-up of a long-term relationship in a way that was brutal, honest and identifiable. This heart-on-sleeve account of a relationship gone sour was delivered at a level which connected with its audience and saw the band gain much critical acclaim — including The Best Album of 2008 right here on TLOBF. With Midnight Organ Fight so focused around one central topic it was always going to be interesting to see what the band did on its follow up. Continue Reading

Meursault

Scotland’s music scene is in rude health. Bands are blooming like it’s spring-time and the support of bloggers and punters has created a biosphere of creativity. So, in the first of what’s to become a regular column, Billy Hamilton – co-editor of The Scotsman’s Under the Radar new music site – delves deep into its tartan-toned landscape. At the bottom of the post, you can download a free mixtape featuring all of the bands mentioned.

If 2009 was Scotland’s cultural homecoming, then 2010 is the year its musicians need to pack their bags and finally move out.

For the bands that enthralled local gig-goers last year, the next twelve months are critical. Sure, the swollen cyber-palms of backslapping bloggers suggests a limited degree of success beckons, but true worth can only really be gauged if the tartan-kilted nest is vacated for a sojourn to more robust climes down south.

One glance at the upcoming gigs of our lauded young ‘uns shows a burning want to remain within the ball-court that begins and ends on both sides of the M8. Granted, there’s an admirable grit in believing success lies beyond fellating the barnacled cock of Big Ben, but even if the thrill of being sucked into a whorehouse of in-store shows and vacuous T4 slots isn’t your game, the possibility of discovering new audiences should be incentive enough.

In recent years, the most successful (and by successful I mean in terms of collecting critical adulation) Scottish bands to seep into the national hemisphere have been 4AD’s Broken Records and FatCat Records trio The Twilight Sad, Frightened Rabbit and We Were Promised Jetpacks. Yes, they may be enrolled on national labels but these acts had already proven themselves as capable wooers of unfamiliar crowds; each band confident in its ability to unravel the crossed arms of cynics based purely on their music. And it’s this sort of confidence the new breed of Scottish act has to exude in 2010. They need to move away from the Scottish music scene’s cotton-wooled bosom and furrow a pathway through the UK, not just across the Central Belt. Almost certainly, many will fail and return to familiar haunts to be consoled by familiar faces but, hell, at least they tried; at least they can say they gave it a stab, even if they didn’t draw blood.

Positively, 2009 saw the likes of Meursault, There Will Be Fireworks and Panda Su make their first tentative footsteps south – 2010 needs to see this turn into a concerted effort on a broader scale. Many a promising Scottish act has rotted in the gutter because of a lack of national exposure. To avoid joining them, the new batch of Scottish music makers needs to grab its future by the balls because, quite frankly, no one else will.

So, this inaugural dip into the Scottish music scene is not a start of year tiplist. It’s more a roll call of the bands that are closest to being ready to step up and make the breakthrough from local heroes to national runners. Continue Reading

A couple of live dates to keep you all abreast of this afternoon.

Frightened Rabbit have announced a couple of dates:

March
09 – O2 Academy2 Oxford
20 – O2 Academy2 Birmingham

As, too, have Mumford & Sons:

March
03 – O2 ABC Glasgow
09 – O2 Academy Liverpool
13 – O2 Shepherds Bush Empire

If you’re on O2 you can get Priority Tickets to see Mumford & Sons at O2 venues next March. Tickets on sale now. Terms apply.

Frightened Rabbit, winner of TLOBF’s Album of the Year in 2008, have unveiled the name and release date of their new album.

To be called The Winter Of Mixed Drinks, it will see the light of day on 1st March 2010 via Fat Cat.

The tracklisting is as followings:
1. ‘Things’
2. ‘Swim Until You Can’t See Land’
3. ‘The Loneliness & The Scream’
4. ‘The Wrestle’
5. ‘Skip The Youth’
6. ‘Nothing Like You’
7. ‘Man/ Bag Of Sand’
8. ‘Foot Shooter’
9. ‘Not Miserable’
10. ‘Living In Colour’
11.‘Yes I Would’

The band have also announced a massive Edinburgh Hogmanay show, more details on that here.

Frightened Rabbit return with a brand new single ‘Swim Until You Can’t See Land’ released through FatCat on 16th November, a primer for the band’s forthcoming and as yet untitled abum, expected in Spring 2010.

The band head to the USA once again on 14th September, renewing their touring relationship with labelmates The Twilight Sad, returning to the UK to play a special show for the Scottish Mental Health Arts and Film Festival www.mhfestival.com on Wednesday 21st Edinburgh at the HMV Picturehouse, before hitting the road in the UK during November as follows (*supporting Gomez):

November
07 Aldershot West End Centre
09 Oxford Academy 2
10 York Duchess of York
11 Nottingham Bodega
12 Liverpool Academy 2
14 Coventry Kasbah*
15 Northampton Roadmenders*
16 Brighton Corn Exchange*
17 Southampton University*
19 Exeter Lemon Grove*
20 London Troxy*
21 Tunbridge Wells Forum
22 Cambridge Soul Tree
24 Sheffield Plug*
25 Whitehave Civic Hall*

And supporting Modest Mouse in December:
07 Dublin Academy
08 Dublin Academy
09 Belfast Spring & Airbrake
13 Manchester Ritz
14 London Shepherds Bush Empire

Photograph credit: Jonathan Dadds

There was a shard-sharp moment during this gig when everything that Frightened Rabbit stand for was frozen into a blinkless instant of time. The band had left the stage after a crazed hour of redrawing the sainted contours of The Midnight Organ Fight and in that low mumbling hum before the encore Scott Hutchinson had evidently snuck back out with an acoustic guitar. I heard him before I saw him – the first strains of ‘Poke’ ‘poke at my iris, why can’t I cry about this’ – and sought out the source of the sound. Once it became apparent that he was at the lip of the stage, alone and washed in blue light, a total silence fell across the room – it bred, the way noise does sometimes, quickly enveloping everyone. I’ve seen reverence at gigs before but this was something else, a giving over, an open gesture of respect for the song and for Hutchinson’s lyrics. Whatever the reason for this – and it might just be something as simple as an honest band writing superbly well about the universal theme of feeling like shit, mostly – Frightened Rabbit have dug their way into people’s hearts. It’s an immense thing to behold. Continue Reading

I have a new love in my life. Just don’t tell my fiancee. They’re a bunch of lads from Scotland… so she might not get TOO jealous… but they’ve convened under the title of We Were Promised Jetpacks (quite possibly one of the best band names for AGES), and they create some of most emotive and stirring music I’ve heard for ages.

Their sound finds itself charging through the middle ground of The Twilight Sad’s dense, atmospheric sheen’s of music and Frightened Rabbit’s guitar-pop and meaningful lyrics of real-life problems and moments. They’ve signed to Fat Cat records as well, which suggests that someone knows what they’re doing on both sides. I’ll be honest, since their debut album These Four Walls was sent to me, I’ve listened to very little else. I love the charging guitars, the soaring choruses, the sheer ENERGY that they’ve got going on. It makes me want to drown in their music. Their wall of guitars sounds like a massive torrent of rain – covering every part of your being, drenching you to the core in their atmospheric wall of noise.

So, I thought, I’d hassle Mike Jetpack and find out a bit more about the band. Continue Reading

The opening question to ask when presented with any live album, and especially a live album that replicates track for track an already existing album (The Midnight Organ Fight [TLOBF review]) is a big WHY? The natural thing to do would be to try to take the record as it is, as something new, and to ignore the studio recordings. Quietly Now, which features mostly acoustic versions of the Midnight… tracks, in the same running order, makes this impossible – you have to look backwards to the studio album and make comparisons, it’s inevitable, and it might be painful. I don’t mind admitting that there’s a lot at stake here for me, I’m uncommonly fond of The Midnight Organ Fight. What to do if this detracts from the genius of that record? What to do? Continue Reading

Us Brits may moan about the weather and the tax, but when it comes to live music, this tiny island is a delight. From where else in the world could we nip off to Berlin, Paris, Barcelona, Copenhagen or, er, Minehead to indulge our burning desire for live music and still scrape into work on a Monday morning? And where else could we hop between a 60,000-seat football stadium packed full of air-punching Bruce Springsteen fans and a miniscule bar where a fragile Edwyn Collins plays a secret set to 50 tearful Dundonians (and one TLOBF writer)? Eight of the site’s most obsessive gig-goers present their picks of the year’s live music. Continue Reading

Frightened Rabbit, inaugural winners of our Readers Poll Album of the Year are to release a new, acoustic, live album on 30th March 2009 via Fat Cat.

An auxiliary cast of guest musicians (including The Twilight Sad’s James Graham, Glasgow’s scene hero Ross Clark and Adam Pierce of Mice Parade on the mixing board) are also on show.

This live recording will be accompanied by a March 2009 tour – a series of dates aimed towards resemblance to the intimacy of ‘Quietly Now!…’.

In addition, Frightened Rabbit’s Christmas Single, ‘It’s Christmas So We’ll Stop’ is out this week.  They are performing tonight through the weekend with Biffy Clyro, before heading to America for a headline jaunt in January.

Tourdates:
March 27th – The Castle Keep, Newcastle
March 28th -  The Canteen, Barrow
March 29th – The Musician, Leicester
March 30th -  Glee Club, Birmingham
March 31st – The Captain’s Rest, Glasgow
April 15th  -   Scala, London (full electric show – headline)

Photo by Lucy Johnson

Well… we’re sorry for the delay, but the two Rich’s here at TLOBF Towers have been burning the midnight oil, counting each of the votes… And now we’re ready to announce it!

According to you, the lovely, well-dressed and gorgeous readers of TLOBF, the album of the year IS:

Continue Reading

Frightened Rabbit at Hoxton Bar and Kitchen, 02/10/08. Photo credit: Lucy Johnston

Up and coming folk troubadours Frightened Rabbit played to a sold-out crowd at the ever-trendy Hoxton Bar and Kitchen. Crowd and industry alike were clearly amused by the eclectic choice of supports, but obviously blown away by the headliners.

Baddies opened proceedings with their spin on what can only be termed as Kaiser Chief-rock. Before any of you shrink back at fear from that suggestion, it isn’t intended as criticism, only description. In reality, Baddies are comparable to the Kaisers when they were on good form, ‘I Predict A Riot’ era, before the public realised that loving a band too much ultimately leads to hating them even more. Shouty, adrenaline pumped Oi-pop seemed to be the overall vibe of Baddies’ set. Their songs were well written and came across as powerful enough live, taking a pop sound but throwing in the occasional unexpected guitar flick or Klaxons-esque vocal harmony here or there. However, as with the Kaisers, there were times when Baddies did come across as slightly cliche, with their lead singer constantly feeling the need to point at a largely non-moving and ambivalent crowd in the style of a military dictator. The smart shirt/retro instrument image did nothing but solidify the indie stereotype as well. All in through, Baddies played a solid set and if, like the audience, you can look past the surface flaws, it’s easy to see a band with a hell of a lot of potential in the pop world. Continue Reading

It’s that time of year again… We’re making our list and checking it twice, trying to find out who’s been naughty or nice. Yes, it’s our Album of the Year! More coveted than a shiny penny, more famous than the winner of last year’s X-Factor and guaranteed to start debate!

This year, to shuffle blame away from TLOBF HQ, we’re getting YOU, yes, YOU the reader, to vote for the albums YOU think are the best 2008 had to offer. We’ve whittled down a mammoth list of prospective albums to a mere 50. It’s tough work, but someone had to do it.

So, mouse button at the ready – get clicking! You can pick as many albums as you like, there are no limits. If you feel it’s worthy of “Album of the Year” status, then do the right thing and cast your vote.

If you need some help making that all-important decision, you can read our take on the albums listed in our 2008 archive here.

The poll will close on Friday December 12th.

There is a prize up for grabs for one lucky reader. Some very kind record companies behind the following 50 records have offered up a selection of prizes including: ultra-rare vinyl, posters, t-shirts and CDs by some of the nominees, plus a pair of tickets to see the sold-out Fleet Foxes show at London Roundhouse in February 2009. To be in with a chance of winning this mammoth and hugely exciting prize, enter your details at the bottom of this page. The lucky winner will be notified via email. Competition closes on Friday 12th December.

Continue Reading

It isn’t called selling out anymore. It’s called ‘Licensing’. Today’s musical climate has taken the excitement and joy out of release date fever. Today’s youth can download, legally or otherwise, what they want, when they want it. The radio is playing things safe. It is the era of the Radio Friendly Unit Shifter. Ticket prices are soaring (it’s the only way the band can make money if you download kids…..you have been warned). In these conditions, TV can be the way to go for many bands- the only way to guarantee exposure and ultimately form a career in an increasingly stale market. Earlier this month Bloc Party suggested, with tongue only slightly in cheek, that they might release a whole album as a series of adverts. Just a few years ago bands would have been called out for choosing this career path. Now its just an accepted part of life for the immaculately dressed box-fresh youth that cram into Brixton Academy for the show tonight. As Orange County lies smoldering thousands of miles away a wave of sensitive youths have descended on South London. The show was moved down from Alexandra Palace-perhaps an indication that Death Cab For Cutie don’t hold quite such a hold on this nations youth as they do in the US. Continue Reading

Photograph by Lucy Jay

Frightened Rabbit have recorded a new song entitled ‘Last Tango in Brooklyn’ for Australian zine The Lifted Brow. Here is Pitchfork’s take: “It’s a view looking back after a relationship has ended, and what once seemed bright and lovely has now turned cold and lonely. Starting with an acoustic guitar and building to a sad hymnal, fleshed out with chanting and tambourine, ‘Last Tango in Brooklyn’ shows a quieter, less anthemic side of Frightened Rabbit. It’s a desolate ode to something gone, that feeling not so much that the world is over but that things used to be a little more fun.”

Grab the song here!

mp3:> Frightened Rabbit: ‘Last Tango In Brooklyn’