Greys Over America: Frightened Rabbit Prep Next U.S. Onslaught

Was there a calculated series of proddings that resulted in the wave of press leading up to the release of Glaswegian trio Frightened Rabbit's Sing The Greys? If so, it was for good reason, of course: the record -- which previously was most readily attainable by U.S. music fans via the EMusic digital music storefront -- is a ball of fire. And based on the preposterously good reworked version of "The Greys" that is the bed for the amazing video above (that buzzes and throbs and seethes), we expect that this U.S. version of Sing The Greys is a cut above the original release. Which is somewhat amazing, considering. But somehow in the remastering with Douches or the re-recording or whatever it was, the jittering and convulsive Scottish Good Rock that populates the record swells even bigger. If you haven't yet watched the video atop this item you are missing one of the biggest rock moments of the year. We love how certain shots in the clip shudder almost in time with each blast of the kick drum. Anyway, Frightened Rabbit begins a U.S. tour a week from today. We are so amped for their show in Boston we already bought tickets in advance; full tour dates are below. We also got in touch with Scott of Frightened Rabbit to get his thoughts about yet another trip to America. Here they are:

Unless we've lost count we think this is the band's third or fourth trip to the U.S. in the last 9 months. Are you getting the hang of it? We recall there being some trouble with the great volume of water in American toilets mentioned in our last interview.

We do still forget about the high tide in the toilets, but aside from that, each time we return to the US it beats the previous outing to a pulp. Ignoring the shit on our hands, we're always very happy to be in America.

Here's a stupid question we've never asked before. We recall taking special electrical adaptors to the UK and Europe in the past for -- well, we don't know what for. But we had them. Have you ever heard of a band from the UK or elsewhere running into difficulty with their music gear when they come to the U.S. vis a vis the different electrical voltage or wattage or whatever it is? We imagine this being a huge problem for '60s British Invasion bands, maybe not so much anymore.

Never with music gear. My mobile phone didn't like the voltage in the US and staunchly refused to turn on... That was a very weird question and I'm not sure I have any more information on the subject. Did you know that New Zealand is the only country in the world that has no crows?

We still haven't gotten to the store this week to get the U.S. release of the record. But if we are remembering all our facts this was worked on by Peter Katis and then Alan Douches, two big names for fans of indie records. What were some of the good ideas they had for making the already-great U.K. version of Sing The Greys even greater? Anything surprising about the process of having a second effort at making a record?

The 'bettering' process was actually mainly down to myself and Glasgow based producer Marcus Mackay going back into the studio earlier this year and ironing out the creases, filling in some potholes and adding some beef to the trifle. We didn't actually re-take many of the parts at all. We just spent more time shaping the songs. The first version took about 10 days start to finish, which turned out to be less time than it needed. It still surprises me to this day that people can actually enjoy that version, because I rather dislike it. The original was actually never mastered at all, so that was a beautiful thing that Alan Douches did. Peter didn't work on the first record at all, but he and Alan did work on our second album, due out next year.

You'll be doing shows with Pinback and Mum. Which act would you put money on in a brawl between the two?

Hard to say. That depends on whether Pinback would hit the girls. I doubt they would. If its some sort of tag team match then the situation changes, as all kinds of skullduggery can go on outside the ring when the referee's back is turned. Items such as 'the metal chair' come into play and then the match is much more even. A glass to the face here, a kick in the nuts there. I'm actually thinking Mum might have a chance.

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Here's the old version of "Go Go Girls" for your listening enjoyment. Grab it down, rock out to it, and then go buy the domestic release of Sings The Greys to compare.

Frightened Rabbit -- "Go Go Girls" -- Sings The Greys [UK Version]
[right click and save as]
[buy Sings The Greys from Newbury Comics here]

10/12 -- Death By Audio -- New York, New York
10/15 -- Empty Bottle -- Chicago, Illinois
10/16 -- Pabst Theatre -- Milwaukee, Wisconsin
10/17 -- Fineline Music Cafe -- Minneapolis, Minnesota
10/18 -- Slowdown -- Omaha, Nebraska
10/19 -- Gothic Theatre -- Englewood, Colorado
10/20 -- The Depot -- Salt Lake City, Utah
10/22 -- Showbox Showroom -- Seattle, Washington
10/23 -- Viking Union Multipurpose Room -- Bellingham, Washington
10/24 -- Roseland Theatre -- Portland, Oregon
10/25 -- Bimbos 365 Club -- San Fransisco, California
10/26 -- Bimbos 365 Club -- San Fransisco, California
10/28 -- The Wiltern -- Los Angeles, California
10/30 -- Solar Cuture Gallery -- Tucson, Arizona
11/01 -- Emo’s Jr. -- Austin, Texas
11/03 -- Spanish Moon -- Los Angeles, California
11/05 -- Drunken Unicorn -- Atlanta, Georgia
11/06 -- Local 506 -- Chapel Hill, North Carolina
11/08 -- Theatre of Living Arts -- Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
11/09 -- Pianos -- New York, New York
11/11 -- Great Scott -- Boston, Massachusetts