Album Review: Frightened Rabbit - Pedestrian Verse


Frightened Rabbit’s album Pedestrian Verse was released worldwide, Monday, February 4, 2013. Scott Hutchinson, singer and darling, says the band was able to settle into the songs they wrote on the road by the time they got into the studio, and (in part, because of that) it’s the best album they've put out. After a good listen, I can understand why he feels that way: it’s a very solid collection of music and lyrics. The band plays with their muscles, the rhythms are extremely well-built, and the words tell a meaningful story: love and country; disenchantment and secrets; happiness and hope.

I’m also not surprised Hutchinson said (in the three part video on their website documenting Hutchinson’s take on the album) that he’s influenced by artists like Jeff Tweedy, Ryan Adams, and Laura Cantrell—not only for their talent as independent song writers, but because they’re contemporaries. This music may be Frightened Rabbit’s best, but it’s not exactly new; the guitar sound is deeper and Hutchinson’s voice is heavier ("Acts of Man" reminds me of the lush music Peter Gabriel made early in his solo career), but it sounds like other currently lovable, layered music. Maybe the tension has shifted: the album is far more relaxed than the previous three. 

Pedestrian Verse, which follows the 2012 State Hospital EP, is well-produced and will sound beautiful pumping out of a nice stereo, but I get the impression the collective audience might get a little bored at the collective live performance (too much smiley head banging for one night). It’s a feel-good album, with enough Scottish wetness to keep me interested, but I doubt—especially if what Hutchinson likes best about it is that there were fewer sleepless nights making it—that it can be topped. I doubt it will even hold the public’s interest very long, even though we’ll sincerely appreciate the effort the band put into writing, recording, and remixing each song, together.

Frightened Rabbit is a good, harmonious band (it appears to be completely in tune); unfortunately, when a band’s in tune, it sometimes loses its discord—literally, figuratively.

Grade:  B+




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