The sophomore effort, The Midnight Organ Fight, from young Scottish band Frightened Rabbit strays away from the whiskey infused garage rock numbers of their first album Sing The Greys and into a world where, while the exterior appears gentler, the interior that is being masked is much more serious and oftentimes is harsher than before.
By mixing elements of country, folk, pop, electronic and alt-rock with arrangements often bordering on orchestral, the band manage on the most part to craft distinctive sounds worthy of attention. The addition of the sometimes stark but always earnest and delicately layered vocals makes for something of a unique combination that, while occasionally misguided or overambitious, is a demonstration of the groups audacity and willingness to stretch themselves and leave nothing in reserve. However, while the weak moments come very rarely, so important is the flow and pacing that it detracts more from the record as a whole than it should. In this way, it's almost as though the album is weaker than the sum of it's parts.
All this said, the majority of the record holds the listener's attention by way of the hidden nuances in the mix, as well as the brutally honest and often shocking vocals, which when delivered in the crooning lament hold even more impact. Casually delivered lines such as "...or should we kick it's cunt in? And watch as it dies from bleeding" or "..if we've both got the same diseases, it's irrelevant, girl" are perfect examples of this.
The Midnight Organ Fight puts the band in an interesting position. By alienating radio stations, and leaving others that are faint of heart squirming with their extremely forthcoming lyrics, the band put themselves in a position of contrast with the unique but altogether more mainstream sound they have developed since their first record. If they continue on their current trajectory, they could be one album away from a modern masterpiece. However, with even a slight toning down of their intensity, they are just as likely to become the next Gomez. You can figure out what I mean by that on your own.
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