It's always annoying when a band is touted as "the next big thing," especially when they've been around pumping out great stuff for years and then suddenly everyone is talking about them like the stork dropped them off that morning — see Bon Iver winning a Best New Artist Grammy this year, five years after their debut came out. If there's any justice out there, the same thing is likely to happen with Frightened Rabbit, who inked a deal with Atlantic a while back and are now prepping an offering scheduled for early next year. It should be a boon for the Scottish five-piece, who've already done the indie thing to death, putting out three top-notch full-length efforts, including 2008's The Midnight Organ Fight (Fat Cat), which featured "The Twist" — easily one of the tops songs of the past few years.
F. Rabbs's sound spans dark-but-jangly pop, airy and spacious earnestness, and the kind of anthem-like pieces that distance them from countrymen We Were Promised Jetpacks. Instead, they approach U2-ish heights, albeit with more of an edge (not The Edge, mind you). Last week, the band whet the appetites of their followers with the five-song State Hospital EP, which absolutely soars for 20 minutes. When exquisite bits such as the title track and "Boxing Night" are deemed extended-play material, that major-label debut looks promising indeed.
SEE THEM: FRIGHTENED RABBIT + FLASHLIGHTS | October 6 @ 8 pm | Brighton Music Hall, 158 Brighton Ave, Allston :: 18+ :: $20 | 617.779.0140 or brightonmusichall.com
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Music Features
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