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Originally from the cold and inhospitable Scottish lands, their melodies aim instead to warm our hearts. These Frightened Rabbits are British by passport but American musically.
Their offering is almost a summary of the indie pop of the last decade. Very superficially, they could be framed as a more Brit version (more Coldplay of "Parachutes", in particular) of Death Cab for Cutie or as the less baroque version of Arcade Fire, but the range of influences of these four Scots is actually much broader; this "The Midnight Organ Fight" can indeed be defined as a well-crafted cocktail of Frog Eyes, Neutral Milk Hotel, and Okkervil River: In fact, one might encounter, while listening, not only adolescent dirges ("The Modern Leper") and lively refrains ("I Feel Better"), but also sweet folk-pop pieces ("Poke") and tear-jerking ballads ("Goods Arms Vs Bad Arms"). The continuum that binds this wide variety of sounds is undoubtedly the taste for melodies, skillfully emphasized by the lightness of the production, which with strings and choirs makes these light notes soar even further. Scott Hutchinson's timid and almost trembling singing, the true compositional leader of the quartet, perfectly complements this musical backdrop full of fluttering guitars and dreamy harmonies, is never inclined to communicate an overwhelming joy, rather always melodramatically suspended between a discreet and polite happiness and a total resignation; the lyrics themselves, all written by the frontman, autobiographical and centered on the end of a long relationship, for their sincerity and refusal of naive youthful optimism, are placed far from the label, according to some infamous, of "adolescent".
The compositional naivety is still evident (instrumental interludes like "Extrasupervery" or "My Bright Pink Bookmark" are merely fillers while other tracks are flat and banal and only extend the perhaps excessive runtime of this full-length) but these soothing melodies will be a balm for all those kids who, lying on their bed with distracted eyes pondering the memories of yesterday, today, and tomorrow, will need to shed the proverbial tear before the smile returns to light up their face.
Tracklist Lyrics and Videos
08 Head Rolls Off (03:44)
Jesus is just a Spanish boy's name.
How come one man got so much fame?
To enemy, it's pointless to anybody
That doesn't have faith
Give me the cloth and I'll wipe my face.
When it's all gone
Something carries on
And it's not morbid at all,
Just when natures had enough of you
When my blood stops,
Someone else's will not.
When my head rolls off,
Someone else's will turn.
And while I'm alive, I'll make tiny changes to earth.
So you can burn me
Cause we'll all be the same, the same way.
Dirt in someone's eyes cried down the drain
I believe in a house in the clouds
And God's got his dead friends 'round
He's painted all the walls red
To remind them they're all dead
And you know when it's all gone, something carries on--
And it's not morbid at all--
Just when nature's had enough of you.
When my blood stops
Someone else's will not.
When my head rolls off
Someone else's will turn.
You can mark my words, I'll make tiny changes to earth
While I'm alive, I'll make tiny changes to earth
Tiny changes to earth
Tiny changes to earth
10 Keep Yourself Warm (05:33)
My hole, I'll get my hole, I'll get my hole
Get my hole, get my hole and I'll find out more.
It's a choo-choo train, a rocket launch
If we have a hormone race
i'm bound to finish first.
Can you see in the dark?
Can you see the look on your face?
The flashing white light's been turned off,
You don't know know who's in your bed.
It takes more than fucking someone you don't know to keep warm.
Do you really think that for a house-beat you'll find your love in a hole?
Oh, you won't find love in a,
Won't find love in a hole.
It takes more than fucking someone to keep yourself warm.
I'm drunk, I'm drunk
And you're probably on pills
If we've both got the same diseases
It's irrelevant girl
And the room fills with steam
Oh, evaporates disappears
My point of entry is the same way
That I leave
Can you see in the dark?
Can you see the look on your face?
The flashing white light's been turned off
You don't know know who's in your bed.
It takes more than fucking someone you don't know to keep warm.
Do you really think that for a house-beat you'll find your love in a hole?
But, you won't find love in a, won't find love in a hole.
It takes more than fucking someone to keep yourself warm.
You won't find love in a, won't find love in a hole.
It takes more than fucking someone to keep yourself-
SEE in the dark!
Can you see the look in your face?
The flashing white light's been turned off
You don't know know who's in your bed.
It takes more than fucking someone you don't know
to keep warm
Do you really think that for a house-beat you'll find your love in a hole?
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