Scottish rockers Frightened Rabbit release new EP
Canvasback/Atlantic recording group Frightened Rabbit has announced details of their much anticipated major label debut EP. “STATE HOSPITAL” arrives in the U.S. on September 25th.
“With the exception of ‘State Hospital,’ this is a collection of songs that for one reason or another did not fit on the full-length record, either thematically or tonally,” says lead vocalist/guitarist Scott Hutchinson. “They’re still four of our favourites, and they definitely represent the directions we’ve been pushing ourselves into with new material. We were inspired by fairly dissonant artists during the writing and recording of these songs, from Beak> to The Shins via Max Richter and Caribou. I think we’ve definitely darkened our corners a little with this EP.”
Frightened Rabbit will celebrate the EP’s release with a North American fall tour. The dates begin Friday, October 5th at Johnny Brenda’s in Philadelphia and then continue through the month.
Frightened Rabbit is currently hard at work completing their Canvasback/Atlantic debut LP, slated for release in early 2013. The much-anticipated album was recorded this past May at the famed Monnow Valley Studio in Rockfield, South Wales, with producer Leo Abrahams (Brian Eno & David Byrne, Paolo Nutini, Brett Anderson) behind the board.
The Glasgow-based band recently took a break from the sessions to fulfill a lifelong dream of performing in their home country’s historic Highlands. The trek—which included gigs in such far-flung locales as Ullapool, Stornoway, and the Isle of Mull—was captured by fraternal filmmakers Hand Held Cine Club (David Lynch, Band of Skulls) for the upcoming short film, entitled The Highlands Tour.
Frightened Rabbit has earned a wide range of critical applause and a fervent international fan following with their emotional melodies and frank lyricism. The band’s most recent full-length, 2010’s “THE WINTER OF MIXED DRINKS” (FatCat Records), was met with unanimous acclaim both here and at home. The Guardian’s Dave Simpson declared that “(Scott Hutchison’s) songwriting is sharp throughout and most of their songs—with themes of escape, freedom and reinvention—have huge impassioned choruses that are made to be shouted from the nearest available mountain. This is the sound of a band upping their game.” What’s more, “THE WINTER OF MIXED DRINKS” was selected by NPR listeners as one of their “50 Favorite Albums of 2010.”
As moving and triumphant on stage as they are on record, Frightened Rabbit has performed countless headline shows, as well as sharing stages with such like-minded artists as Modest Mouse and Atlantic labelmates Death Cab for Cutie. The band has also won over audiences at a scope of international festivals, including Glastonbury, T in the Park, Oxegen Festival, and Latitude in the UK, Australia’s Splendour in the Grass, and our own Lollapalooza and South By SouthWest (SXSW).
