Review: Frightened Rabbit | The Winter Of Mixed Drinks [MP3]

Selkirk, Scotland-based indie goliaths Frightened Rabbit's third full-length ("moving-on record") gracefully extends the themes of the band's widely lauded [including here] sophomore opus The Midnight Organ Fight ("break-up record"). But the broader context of the band's recordings and live appearances underscores that the Frightened Rabbit of today is a vastly different varmint than the one we first encountered more than three years ago. The Winter Of Mixed Drinks completes the band's incremental evolution from indie rock band -- with the emphasis on "indie" -- to a pop band. How you feel about the quintet discarding most of the darkness and aggression of its earlier work and lushly orchestrating the new, arena-scaled anthems on the recently released third full-length may slant your feelings about how the beloved act has changed during the last seven years. But by any measure, even long-time fans will find The Winter Of Mixed Drinks to be a remarkable collection.

We readily admit that we miss the old days, when Frightened Rabbit was so tightly wrapped in the sweaty sheets shrouding the dead romance plaguing fronter Scott Hutchison that the band visibly throbbed with angst. The Hutchison brothers' impassioned performances during the first few Boston shows we saw appeared existentially cathartic, to the extent that second guitarist Billy Kennedy's even-keeled strumming and leads were almost comically stoic by comparison. Still, we begrudge neither the band's trajectory, nor the warm embrace it enjoys from burgeoning legions of fans. It is an unenviable task navigating the narrow stripe among the split camps of fickle fans who will just as readily damn a band for changing as they would damn them for stylistically sitting still. Frightened Rabbit succeeds by continually tinkering and experimenting, by expanding the soft boundaries of its sonic realm.

You don't have to listen hard to Mixed Drinks to hear that fronter Scott Hutchison's facility with songcraft remains impressively deft, that the songs themselves continue to be colored by a confessional tone and emotional urgency. The pop, of course, is obvious -- you've surely already heard the uptempo strummer "Nothing Like You." But from the shimmering tremelo curtain that reveals the opening, spine-tingling anthem "Things" to the handclaps and saxophone that ushers out the stirring album closer "Yes I Would," Hutchison's increasingly ambitious arrangements are more crisply realized, more densely rendered on The Winter Of Mixed Drinks. The aforementioned "Things" is so layered with vocal harmonies one hears more voices the harder one listens. "The Wrestle" features orchestration and production so skillfully arranged that a listener feels like he could dive into it, swim straight down, and never reach the bottom. "Skip The Youth" doesn't end so much as it dramatically decomposes like some kind of Victorian-era mechanical man. FR's prior full-lengths both touted notable interstitial song bits, and the new record is no different: "Man/Bag Of Sand" repackages pieces of "Swim Until You Can't See Land" into an ethereal, droning wonder.

Fat Cat Records issued The Winter Of Mixed Drinks March 9. The band will be in America for the annual South By Southwest confab next week, but then heads to Europe for a series of dates. Frightened Rabbit returns to the U.S. for Coachella April 17, and from there embarks on a five-week North American tour. All tour dates are listed at the band's MySpace domicile right here. Frightened Rabbit performs at Paradise Rock Club in Boston April 29.

Frightened Rabbit -- "Swim Until You Can't See Land" -- The Winter Of Mixed Drinks
[right click and save as]
[buy The Winter Of Mixed Drinks from Newbury Comics right here]

Frightened Rabbit: Internets | MySpace | YouTube | Flickr

Selected Prior Frightened Rabbit coverage:
FR Live at Great Scott, January 2009
FR Live at the Middle East, October 2008
FR Live at TT The Bear's, July 2008
FR Live at the Middle East, March 2008
Review: Frightened Rabbit | The Midnight Organ Fight
FR Live at Great Scott, November 2007

Be Prepared: Everyone Everywhere | Self-titled | 4 May

It's been a long winter, and we expect you're ready for the malaise to dispel. Maybe you've been downsized. Maybe your lady up and left you because she says she "could never love you like she loves Scott Baio." Maybe you've been kicked in the gonads one time too many. Fortunately, Philadelphia-based emo superheroes Everyone Everywhere have been thinking ahead to the care-free days of summer, and specifically how you'll need a soundtrack for good times and warm weather. While you won't be wrong saying Everyone Everywhere reminds you of The Promise Ring, we think it's more correct to say that this band, and this forthcoming set, sounds like summer. And so the quartet will release its full-length debut via Tiny Engines May 4th. The new set, which comes in the now-almost-imperceptible wake of the 2008 7" EP A Lot Of Weird People Standing Around, will be made available digitally and on limited-edition, colored vinyl (350 maroon, 150 white). Pre-order Everyone Everywhere right here. In the meantime, the band is cobbling together a strand of tour dates to support the record. We're pleased to see at least some of them are slated for "venues" in the Philly 'burbs near where we ourselves were born and raised (Grand Slam USA? Isn't that the indoor batting cages?). Inspect the full itinerary as it stands now below.

03.17 -- The Fire -- Philadelphia, PA
03.26 -- Grand Slam USA -- Malvern, PA
03.27 -- AVA House -- Philadelphia, PA
04.03 -- MacRock -- Harrisonburg, VA
04.23 -- (House Show) -- Malvern, PA
05.07 -- Fennario -- West Chester, PA
05.08 -- Charm City Art Space -- Baltimore, MD
05.11 -- Kung Fu Necktie (Record Release Show) -- Philadelphia, PA
05.22 -- Bushwick Music Studios -- Brooklyn, NY
05.29 -- O'Brien's Pub -- Boston, MA

That Was The Show That Was: The Hush Now | Great Scott | 6 March

[UPDATE: Now includes The Hush Now's South By Southwest schedule below. -- Ed.] Some serious woodshedding in recent months and key lineup changes have elevated Boston-based indie pop concern The Hush Now from surprisingly-good-under-the-circumstances to downright formidable. Where previously the band in the live setting somehow over-achieved while admittedly under-rehearsing (typically due to a revolving door of sidemen), Saturday night the band was confident and more than capable. In short, they killed it. If bandleader Noel Kelly and his cohort can recreate Saturday's spirited set six times over during that many planned gigs at South By Southwest, The Hush Now may finally garner the level of awareness -- even acclaim -- that it deserves.

Late in 2009 Mr. Kelly was faced with yet another vacancy in the lineup when the band's former bassist decamped to Philadelphia. Only months prior he had to replace a lead guitarist, and fortune certainly shined upon Kelly when he was able to bring affable, imaginative lead player Adam Quane aboard. But perhaps an even more important acquisition was bassist Pat MacDonald, whose playing Saturday night reminded us of how a good rhythm section should work. In indie rock it is de rigueur for bass players to do their own thing, which usually means players foregoing the rhythmic portion of their role in favor of filling out the low end and occasionally augmenting melody. However, Mr. MacDonald thrilled us by not only being completely fluent with the repertoire, but even more so by playing directly to (and at times smartly against) The Hush Now's brilliantly understated drummer Barry Marino. We literally hadn't seen this sort of ball-in-socket playing since the short-lived career of the incredible Joey Sweeney Rock Band in the mid-'90s, which featured Brian McShane on bass and Rob Viola on drums. With MacDonald and Marino playing as a unit, The Hush Now now has dazzling sonic dimension over and above (or more accurately, under and below) the Kitchens Of Distinction-style wall of guitars and synth and impassioned vocals. As nice as the band's two self-released full-lengths are, suddenly The Hush Now is a band that needs to be seen -- and heard -- live.

As the evening was intended to celebrate the release of Constellations, The Hush Now's sophomore set released locally in mid-2009, the performance Saturday drew largely from that collection. The single "Hoping And Waiting" was given a lively reading, as was the title track and the under-rated album cuts "Smokescreens" and "Thorns" (a download of which we are offering below). Later in the set The Hush Now pulled out "Traditions," a highlight of the band's debut self-titled set, and if memory serves the band closed with a new track ridiculously titled "Stu-stu-studio." Kelly tells us that the band intends to post video blogs from South By Southwest, and we are hoping that a fair amount of live footage makes the cut. We don't yet have the band's Austin appearances in hand, but we hope to post them soon. The Hush Now plans at least two stops on the way to Austin to promote Constellations, and those live dates are posted below.

The Hush Now -- "Thorns" -- Constellations
[right click and save as]
[download the entire record here]

The Hush Now: Internerds | MySpace | YouTube | Flickr

03.12 -- Uncle Mike’s -- New York City, NY
03.14 -- The Khyber -- Philadelphia, PA
03.17 -- Black Ice (5:15PM) -- Austin, TX [SXSW]
03.18 -- TRF Outdoor Complex (12:00PM) -- Austin, TX [SXSW]
03.18 -- The Side Bar (4:00PM) -- Austin, TX [SXSW]
03.19 -- Pure (2:00PM) -- Austin, TX [SXSW]
03.20 -- Mugshots (5:00PM) -- Austin, TX [SXSW]
03.21 -- Cheapodiscs (In-store, 4:00PM) -- Austin, TX [SXSW]

Previous Hush Now Coverage:
Review: The Hush Now | Constellations [MP3]
YouTube Rodeo: The Hush Now's "Wishing You A Very Merry Christmas"
YouTube Rodeo: The Hush Now's "Constellations"
Today's Hotness: The Hush Now
Back To Now: The Hush Now Interview With Noel Kelly
In The Studio With... The Hush Now

The Hush Now | Great Scott, Boston | 6 March

The Hush Now, Boston's shape-shifting and somewhat reclusive indie pop juggernaut, is finally getting around to having a record release party for its solid sophomore effort Constellations. Longtime readers will recall that the band is somewhere in the midst of fronter and primary songwriter Noel Kelly's five-year plan, and that Mr. Kelly isn't afraid to work multiple records at the same time. So, really, it should be no surprise that The Hush Now is having a record release party almost five months after the local release of Constellations. Given the unique way Kelly conducts business, we wouldn't be surprised to learn that he's got one or more new records in the can already. But that is just speculation.

What is fact is that this show is Saturday night, and that The Hush Now has authorized us to give away three CD/shot glass combo packs to help promote the show. So here's the deal: the first three fans to send us an email (to the address linked in the sidebar) with the subject line "Don't Think About Tomorrow" will win one of these combo packs, which you can either pick up at the show this weekend, or The Hush Now's winged monkeys will mail it to you. How's that for awesome? The band has been giving away Constellations for free from its web site right here, so if you are not yet a believer, hit that link. To whet your appetite we're posting the excellent title track below. We reviewed Constellations here last August.

The Hush Now -- "Constellations" -- Constellations
[right click and save as]
[download the entire record here]

The Hush Now: Internerds | MySpace | YouTube | Flickr

Previous Hush Now Coverage:
YouTube Rodeo: The Hush Now's "Wishing You A Very Merry Christmas"
YouTube Rodeo: The Hush Now's "Constellations"
Today's Hotness: The Hush Now
Back To Now: The Hush Now Interview With Noel Kelly
In The Studio With... The Hush Now
Review: The Hush Now -- The Hush Now

Today's Hotness: Pavement, Everyone Everywhere, Yuck

The charmingly monikered Filthy Little Angels label released Monday its long-anticipated, freely downloadable Pavement tribute compilation Show Me A Word That Rhymes With Pavement. While the collection is uneven, it is not all that much more uneven than historically notable (or at least the first three at the top of mind) tribute comps Step Right Up, Give Me The Cure or Homage. The repertoire on the Pavement comp, of course, is untouchable, but certain of the covers struggle (some fail) to convey either the emotional heft or the Shakespearean wise fool tone set down by Mssrs. Malkmus and Stairs and their cohort. That said, there are sterling covers to be had here, including Mascot Fight's delightful "Carrot Rope" and Olympic Swimmers' moody (moodier?), droning take on the gem "We Dance." Another highlight of Show Me A Word That Rhymes With Pavement is Benjamin Shaw's haunting interpretation of "Starlings Of The Slipstream," from Pavement's flawless Brighten The Corners release. Mr. Shaw's adaptation approaches with a deceptively diminutive scale but builds to a short, tasty cacaphony. Readers may recall that Shaw's I Got The Pox, The Pox Is What I Got EP was released by the fledgling label Audio Antihero late last year. You can download the entire Pavement tribute comp here, but we're offering the cover of "Starlings In The Slipstream" below.

Benjamin Shaw -- "Starlings Of The Slipstream" -- Show Me A Word That Rhymes With Pavement
[right click and save as]
[download the entire compilation from Filthy Little Angels right here]

>> We're going to start talking about contemporary emo quartet Everyone Everywhere now and probably not stop talking about them for quite a while. The act is based in Philly and creates music not all that dissimilar to that of defunct emo heroes The Promise Ring, which basically means we are genetically pre-disposed toward loving Everyone Everywhere. The label Tiny Engines will release the band's self-titled full-length on May 4th, and we can already tell you the thing is super. "But Clicky Clicky," you're saying, "we want to get with this band now!" Believe us, we understand. Fortunately for you, web 'zine If You Make It is currently hosting a free download of Everyone Everywhere's very good 2008 7" A Lot Of Weird People Standing Around. The single sold out but more recently was reissued by Evil Weevil, so if you need that stuff on vinyl go here. As for the forthcoming full-length, it can already be pre-ordered from the band's MySpace dojo right here. The vinyl version will be a limited edition of 500, with 350 pressed on maroon vinyl and the rest pressed to off-white. We're posting a track from A Lot Of Weird People Standing Around below because it is awesome.

Everyone Everywhere -- "Cool Pool Keg Toss Pete" -- A Lot Of Weird People Standing Around
[right click and save as]
[download A Lot Of Weird People Standing Around here]
[buy the 7" here]

>> So, yes, thank you commenter with the information about the awesome London-based band Yuck, which we first wrote about here last month, and which we now know is a quartet that is sometimes a quintet, two of whom used to be in an act called Cajun Dance Party. We actually discovered some of this for ourselves after scouring the Yuck blog and watching this video of the band playing somewhere at a club called The Lexington. Or maybe the song is called "The Lexington?" The band continues to offer us more questions than answers, but that is how we like it. Yuck issues its undeniable debut track "Georgia," one side of a split single, March 15 on Transparent Records. We are sure we'll have more to say about these guys soon.

Rock Over Boston | Demme, Young, and Hitchcock at the Coolidge | WFMU

[Jonathan Demme talks about his new film and how to shoot Robyn Hitchcock at the Coolidge Corner Theatre, March 1, 2010. Photo by Michael Piantigini]

So hand-held camera fan-shot concert films are a thing now, but most of them aren't directed by Jonathan Demme.

Neil Young Trunk Show isn't strictly speaking fan-shot (well, they're probably fans too, right?), but the effect is similar. Last night at the venerable Coolidge Corner Theatre (who are honoring Demme this year with their 2010 Coolidge Award), speaking before what was described as the final print of the film (though it has been kicking around for nearly a year since it premiered at last year's SXSW), Demme talked about his minimal direction to his camera crew, who he said were all musicians. Shoot what you want for as long as you want. What Demme put together from what they shot can only be described as intimate, trite as that sounds. It is, though, intimate in all the right ways: sometimes you're pumping your fist in the third row, sometimes you're backstage watching the tour doctor help Young out with an errant fingernail, and other times, you're there on stage with him.

Ultimately, though, it's all about that tone. That particular alchemy that Neil Young teases out of his fingers on his strings (he's usually not using a pick), through that mysterious magic industrial pedal board, and through that amp at the back of the stage tha that looks like part of an old console stereo you used to see in your grandparents' attic. There's a good mix in the film of Young's acoustic balladry ("Ambulance Blues,") and, yes, there's a few obvious hits ("Like A Hurricane"), but the centerpiece of the film is the 20 minute "No Hidden Path" from 2007's Chrome Dreams II, which stands up to any of Neil Young's epic guitar orgies. Wish I was at the show.

Demme re-created his Trunk Show approach last night by bringing previous documentary subject and pal, Robyn Hitchcock along with him and inviting anyone in the audience with a video camera to record his performance. We got some decent footage of his one song set of "Born On The Wind" from the new album by Robyn Hitchcock and the Venus 3, Propellor Time. There doesn't seem to be a US release planned for Propellor Time at the moment, but the UK version is being done by Sartorial, so you can check it out over there. It isn't clear how or where to send the footage, but I'll certainly let you know if it gets used!

When was the last time you sat in a theater and watched a whole concert film, by the way? Been awhile for me. For a long time, it seems, these sorts of things are experienced on DVD at home, while you're half paying attention. Worth trying again, I say.

ALSO WORTH YOUR ATTENTION: The radio station that is everything that radio stations are supposed to be, WFMU of Jersey City, NJ, is heard around these parts and worldwide on the internets and on their incredible new version 2.0 of their iPhone app - is just starting up their once per year two-week fundraising drive. Unlike most fundraising drives, WFMU's are a blast to listen to and the swag you get for pledging is nothing short of mind-blowing. I personally can't wait to get my hands on Tom Scharpling's Best Show on WFMU premium the "Chump Steamroller Fun Pack" that features an all-star DVD among many other things (and tune in tonight to hear Ted Leo among other guests), and the CDs curated by Boston-area native Evan "Funk" Davies, and Cherry Blossom Clinic hostess Terre T., among so many others. Oh, look! You can give right here:


-Michael Piantigini

Be Prepared: Fleeting Joys | Despondent Transponder [Reissue] | 11 March

California-based shoegaze titans Fleeting Joys announced last week that the duo's stunning, twice-out-of-print full-length debut Despondent Transponder will be reissued with bonus tracks March 11 in Japan on the Thomason Sounds label. The reissue is augmented with two electrifying bonus tracks, "Cross Out My Heart" and "Morphine Drip." Both songs are streaming at Fleeting Joys' MySpace wigwam, and much to our delight the band has consented to our offering "Morphine Drip" as a download, so if you dig the stream come on back and grab the tune. To celebrate the renewed physical availability of the set the band jets off to Japan in early April for a short strand of performances that we would kill to be able to see. So, hey, Japanese readers (reader? oh come on, we must have one!), please shoot video and upload the clips to YouTube or Vimeo or whatnot. We've posted the Japanese dates below.

Despondent Transponder was first released in 2006 and we were hipped to its existence by the one of our favorite old blogs Spoilt Victorian Child (which has since transformed itself into a record label whose roster includes the ridiculously awesome, Austin, Texas-based shoegaze heroes Ringo Deathstarr). Fleeting Joys fans may recall that the label doing the Transpondent Desponder reissue, Thomason Sounds, also did the Japanese release of the band's spectacular sophomore set Occult Radiance. The domestic release of that latter record was one of our favorite albums of 2009, and its track "You Are The Darkness" one of our favorite songs of that year, and, frankly, one of our favorite songs period. Anyway, we honestly have no idea how much the Japanese reissue of Despondent Transponder will set you back, due to our inability to read Japanese. But we can tell you the record is fantastic and maybe you should enlist the services of a Japanese-speaking friend to do some investigating for you; it's that good. For the budget-conscious shoppers among you, both Fleeting Joys records are available from AmazonMP3.com, or, if you'd like to pay a little more, ITunes.

Fleeting Joys -- "Morphine Drip" -- Despondent Transponder [Japanese reissue bonus track]
[right click and save as]
[buy the Thomason Sounds reissue of Despondent Transponder here]

04/03 -- Sunsui -- Osaka
04/04 -- Tightrope -- Nagoya
04/05 -- Fever -- Tokyo
04/06 -- Liquidroom -- Tokyo