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Elly Roberts reviews
Fat Cat Records
- April 2008
- Rating: 4/10
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When a band gets together, they need clearly defines musical aims. FR are all over the place.
Glaswegian bros Scott and Grant Hutchinson with Billy Kennedy make upFrightened Rabbit. Together over a four year period the laddies havedeveloped a very distinctive sound with some interesting songs: nothing more.Theyre not your Franz Ferdinand, Kooks, Razorlight kind of band because theirsongs dont have commercial appeal whatsoever, despite the PR blur statingthey can nail a perfect pop song.
It also claims that FR aimed to create a more pop sounding album and thattheyre essentially folk-tinged pop songs. Confusing or what? Somebody needsto quickly tell them what pop music actually is. Unfortunately that aim hasntbeen achieved, so were left to judge Midnight Organ Fight for what itis a mish mash.
The Modern Leper lends itself more to grungy soft rock, with I Feel Better Bettereventually turning out a messy. Things get better better on the alt-folkGood Arms vs.Bad Arms, which is one of their finest moments, but itsstill not pop.
The melodies and harmonies are exquisite though, and its a delight to hearthem hit form, only to follow it with an average attempt at lightweight rock,Fast Blood. Old Old Fashioned has neat country/rockabilly shuffle, makingit their catchiest ditty so far. The Twist is the kind of track thatyou can easily dismiss.
Adding instrumentals Bright Pink Bookmark and Extrasupervery,at barely one minute, is beyond my comprehension. My Backwards Walkis a stab at U2-like stadium rock-riffs but leaves you frustrated and wanting.Again, is it pop? No. Reflecting their Celtic strains, they unleash a superbraging rocker in the form of Keep Yourself Warm, and it excellent too, iflong overdue.
Thankfully, they up things in terms of mere songcraft with the gorgeous Poke,a floaty ballad dripping in harmonies and melody, giving a huge nod to quaintAmericana soundscapes. Just when it gets really good, they dump depressing andspooky ballad Whod You Kill Now? to finish.
File under: Need to sort their musical agenda, quickly.
Weblink:myspace.com/frightenedrabbit
The full list of tracks included are :
1. The Modern Leper
2. I Feel Better Better
3. Good Arms vs. Bad Arms
4. Fast Blood
5. Old Old Fashioned
6. The Twist
7. Bright Pink Bookmark
8. Heads Roll Off
9. My Backwards Walk
10. Extrasupervery
11. Poke
12. Floating In The Forth
13. Whod You Kill Now
Elly Roberts passed away in 2011, but he was a man who was so passionate about all types of music and loved meeting his musical heroes, such as Mick Hucknall at a book signing at the Trafford Centre, Manchester in 2007.
A former teacher and also a music journalist, DJ and radio presenter on local community station Calon FM, plus appearances on BBC Radio Wales, BBC Radio Cymru and BBC Radio 2, Elly started doing reviews for DVDfever.co.uk in 2004 and he did the majority of the CD and concerts reviews on the website.
I know also that he loved getting away for the summer to Spain and I hope that wherever he is now he is enjoying the hot sunshine and, as one of his friends has said on his Facebook page, that he is interviewing his musical heroes.