Scotland is good for more than just haggis and men in tartan skirts. Selkirk’s Frightened Rabbit, a five-piece folk band with an indie-rock streak, take the stage at the Pearl Street Ballroom in Northampton this Saturday. The band is touring to promote the recent release of their third studio album, “The Winter of Mixed Drinks.”
Kicking off the evening in style is Bad Veins, a band born out of a Cincinnati attic. Since their debut, the band nestled themselves in a fuzzy, alternative-rock niche, drawing references to everyone from the National to the Strokes. The band was initially conceived as a solo project for singer Ben Davis, but became a duo when drummer Sebastian Schultz was added to the mix. They came into their own in the three years since their debut, receiving critical acclaim for their self-titled studio release.
Also preceding Frightened Rabbit is Maps and Atlases, who hail from the Windy City itself. The band concocted their own recipe for rock music, combing peculiar percussive rhythms with folk inspiration and just a dash of math rock. “Perch Patchwork,” a brand-new EP from Maps and Atlases, will be released in June of this year and serves as their debut with Barsuk Records.
Like Bad Veins, Frightened Rabbit was originally a solo effort. Scott Hutchinson’s vision consisted of a half-dozen tracks and a lot of ideas. When the remaining two members joined, the rest came naturally.
Among the interesting features of Frightened Rabbit is their genetic makeup. The band consists of vocalist Hutchinson and his brother Grant Hutchinson on drums, with the help of rhythm guitarist Ben Kennedy.
In an interview with Bill Cummings of God Is In The TV online magazine, vocalist Hutchinson commented on working with his percussive brother, joking, “Grant joined a year later, making the outfit much noisier. Billy came along about six months after this and actually made it a bit less noisy.”
Another of Frightened Rabbit’s more prominent features is Hutchinson’s thick Scottish howl, which provides a bit of folk to even the hardest hitting songs on the album. The general lack of a bass guitarist also aids in this twangy folk feel of their music, though Kennedy occasionally fills this role as well.
Though the band has been together since 2003, they finally found their ticket to the big-time with 2008’s “Midnight Organ Fight.” The album features the singles “Fast Blood” and “Heads Roll Off,” which helped earn the band a spot on Pitchfork’s “Top 50 Albums of 2008.”
“The Winter of Mixed Drinks,” which was released in early March, marks the band’s third studio release. The album builds upon Frightened Rabbit’s previous releases, since the members have noted they do not intend to leave much time between albums.
The album is still a bit of a departure from their previous works, however, adding elements of electronica and more rock-oriented tracks to their catalogue. Songs on the album tend to flow into each other, making graceful transitions between each of the 11 tracks.
The single “Swim Until You Can’t See Land” found its way to alternative radio stations all over the world, rekindling the flames of folk-rock love in their fans. The song is written in true folk fashion, posing the question, “Are you a man, or are you a bag of sand?”
Frightened Rabbit is a high-energy representation of the direction of modern folk music. The performance comes at a perfect time, perhaps serving as a respite for weary minds after a long semester. Regardless, the band is sure to ring in the last week of classes for the University of Massachusetts in a manner all their own.
Frightened Rabbit will perform at the Pearl Street Ballroom on Saturday, May 1 at 9 p.m. Tickets are $15 in advance and $18 at the door.
Angela Stasiowski can be reached at [email protected].
