Nearly a year and a half since their sophomore release, "The Midnight Organ Fight," Frightened Rabbit has already decided to start prepping for their new album, "The Winter of Mixed Drinks," which is set to be released in Spring 2010. Unlike "The Midnight Organ Fight," the new album includes two new band members, Andy Monaghan, who plays bass, and Gordon Skene, who plays a variety of instruments. If you've been following Frightened Rabbit for a while, you probably know that their past two albums didn't have ANY bass on it, a trait that usually damages an album as a whole. Surprisingly, the band pulled off the no-bass sound quite well. This time they've realized it's time to change their sound. Their new single, "Swim Until You Can't See Land," rewards us with a sneak peak of their new sound. Fat Cat, Frightened Rabbit's record label, is streaming both songs for free, along with a video for the title track. Check out both songs before they're removed.
Establishing itself with a resonant buzzing, the delicate heart beat sounds of the drums and a cheerful guitar melody, you can already tell a difference from "Swim Until You Can't See Land" and their older stuff. Contrary to their earlier tunes, this song sounds more upbeat, almost more pop-oriented. Lyrically, though, this song doesn't seem to stray from their prior style, which was mainly grievous ballads; In this particular song, lead singer, Scott Hutchinson, trails off about someone who suddenly realizes he needs to break away from his lover. Nothing new in the lyric department. Similar to songs off "The Midnight Organ Fight," Scott's brother, Grant, backs Scott up with dejected harmonies, still managing to give this band a desolate ring to it. Progressing rapidly, the song reaches it's climax as Scott achingly pants "swim until you can't see land, are you a man or are you a bag of sand?" Interrupted momentarily by a jovial piano interlude, the song takes no hesitation in getting back to the peak of the song.
8/10
In addition to the main track, this single comes with a buoyant B-side, "Fun Stuff," which may be known as "Last Tango in Brooklyn," an unreleased song that's been lingering around certain websites for a few months. Following a few seconds of a hollow guitar being picked, Scott's wintry vocals intone a bleak, glum serenade about how "the fun stuff just isn't as much fun with you." Gingerly, the string instruments gradually build intensity, until about halfway through the song, Scott's bawls "I'm quite alright, I'll get by just fine, I'm not depressed, not most of the time... It's just the fun stuff is much less fun with you..." For the last minute or so of the song, Billy Kennedy, the band's keyboardist, and Skene perform a distressed, grief-stricken instrumental version of the main melody, gradually fluttering away like a docile lullaby.
8/10
