BLOOD, TOIL, tears, and sweat, ravaged emotions, heartbreak, and cathartic confessional honesty, these are the things the words and music of Scottish indie-rock band Frightened Rabbit are built on.
And these raw, heart racing, emotion fuels their live performances, often thrilling affairs, as anyone who witnessed their last performance in the Róisín Dubh will testify - and the chance to see them again is almost here as the band return to the Dominick Street venue to perform two shows - Thursday February 9 and Friday 10.
The band - Scott Hutchison (lead vocals/rhythm guitar ), Grant Hutchison (drums ), Billy Kennedy (bass ), Andy Monaghan (guitar/keys ) and Simon Liddell (guitar/keys ) - who are from Selkirk in southern Scotland, are currently touring their latest album - Painting Of A Panic Attack - which came out in April and was produced by The National’s Aaron Dessner. It went on to win critical acclaim and reached the Top 20 in Britain.
Their latest songs are greatly influenced by vocalist Scott's move to Los Angeles, where he has been living since 2014, and his words reveal a love/hate relationship with the Californian city, as they reflect on loneliness, change, the disparity between the rich and the throngs of homeless in the city, and homesickness for Scotland - themes which come together on the album's closing track, 'Die Like A Rich Boy':
“The song feels like a completely classic song," Dessner has said, "but it’s also a distillation of everything Scott has ever written about. It’s so gracefully constructed and realised, and it’s not trying to be anything other than what it is. I wish I could write a song like that.”
During the making of the album, Scott began to draw similarities between the record and the concept of monuments and memorials, which is reflected in the artwork – a peaceful place, a place of beauty where people go to remember and reflect on chaotic, turbulent, and troubling times. The lyrics are the subject of this reflection, brutality next to beauty. “Great songwriters touch a nerve," Dessner noted, "and I think Scott really touches a nerve with these songs. To me, lyrically, this album is a step above anything he’s written before."
Doors for both shows are 9pm. Tickets are available at www.roisindubh.net, the Ticket Desk at OMG Zhivago, Shop Street, and The Róisín Dubh.
