In anticipation for the release (March 1st in the UK, March 9th the rest of the world) of “The Winter Of Mixed Drinks”, the third album by one of Scotland’s finest bands Frightened Rabbit, I’ll have a week’s worth of goodness (including reviews, videos, interviews and full album streams) leading up to the release day, culminating in a review of the album as well as the full album for your listening head-hole pleasure.
First up; Back story.
Formed in Selkirk, Scotland in 2003, Frightened Rabbit started off as a vehicle for singer Scott Hutchison’s solo shows, eventually roping in his brother Grant on drums and Billy Kennedy on guitar, and today comprising of the former as well as Andy Monaghan (guitarist) and Gordon Skene (keyboards). They released their debut album “Sing The Greys” on June 5th 2006 on their own label Hit The Fan Records, consisting of only 1,000 copies, which are naturally difficulty to get your hands on these days. Thankfully I did manage to get my hands on one for a mere $17, but they can cost upwards of $50, and as Frightened Rabbit are sure to become bigger with “The Winter Of Mixed Drinks” that price is sure to rise.
On October 2nd, 2007 they released a remastered version of “Sing The Greys” on FatCat, some of the bits being re-recorded and the album as a whole getting a bigger and more epic sound to it, and all in all releasing two singles from the album, “Be Less Rude” and “The Greys”.
They had already recorded the bulk of what was to be their next album “The Midnight Organ Fight” by the end of 2007 and on March 3rd, 2008 released “Head Rolls Off”, the first single from their (by then) as yet unreleased second album. ”The Midnight Organ Fight” was released on April 15th, 2008 on FatCat, immediately gaining almost universal critical acclaim. Some say it’s one of the greatest break-up albums ever recorded, with publications such as NME, Pitchfork, DrownedInSound, Q, Kerrang and others adoring it, as well as artists such as Death Cab For Cutie, Jimmy Eat World, and Biffy Clyro. Three singles were released from “The Midnight Organ Fight”, “Head Rolls Off”, “Fast Blood”, and “I Feel Better”.
This bring us to 2010, which many are saying is going to be Frightened Rabbit’s year to hit the “big time”. Having already released two singles from their upcoming third album “The Winter Of Mixed Drinks”, “Swim Until You Can’t See Land” was debuted in May of 2009 and released in November 2009, and “Nothing Like You” released at the tail end of February this year. There are already a few reviews appearing online of the album, every one of them being positive, and as I said there’s a significant amount of chatter and discussion going on about “The Winter Of Mixed Drinks” being their breakthrough.
With a world tour already underway, festival appearances in the summer announced and undoubtedly at least one more single from the album, here’s hoping so.
