Record Review: Frightened Rabbit - The Winter of Mixed Drinks
Written by Russ Crandall   
Wednesday, 03 March 2010 19:26
During the course of 2009, I became a huge fan of Frightened Rabbit; so much so that I named their excellent second album The Midnight Organ Fight my top "Found Sound" album of 2009. Their mix of dense, layered instrumentation and complementary/contradictory vocal melodies sit just right with me. Each song had its own merit - be it some insightful lyrics, a killer guitar riff, or a perfect marriage of melody - and should stand the test of time. I was hoping for the same from The Winter of Mixed Drinks, and in some ways I have. Unfortunately, in many ways it also fails to live up to its own hype.

Let me break it down for you: there are four outstanding tracks on this new album, and the rest are skippable. First standout track is the single "Swim Until You Can't See Land", which showcases a slower, poppier side to the band without compromising on their trademark cynicism. Its chorus line is so catchy that they repeated it on track seven. Next up is track three, "The Loneliness and the Scream", which starts out somewhat muddled but hits its stride about two and a half minutes in, with the best vocal counter-chorus on the record. "Nothing Like You" is the next keeper, which is probably the most readio-ready single on the album, with a chugging mid-tempo pace and ultra-catchy verses. Finally, track five, "Skip the Youth", has a sufficiently long buildup and vocal intro, but does run a little bit stale in its six-plus-minute runtime. Closer "Yes, I Would" is remarkable for its unique falsetto vocals, but it just doesn't quite hit home as well as the four tracks mentioned above.

The rest of the album is decent, but it simply doesn't hold a candle to their previous effort. That's not to say this is a bad album; when a band follows up the album of their career with a serviceable album, that's a win in my book.

ve-flash" data="http://www.lala.com/external/flash/SingleSongWidget.swf" id="lalaSongEmbed" width="350" height="70">

Release date: March 9th, 2010
Comments (0)

Write comment
smaller | bigger

busy
< Prev   Next >
 


Disagree with us? Got an idea? Want to put up your own post with full credit?

Click here to send it to us and we'll post it...as long as it doesn't suck.

About Bloguin

Bloguin is the revolutionary blog network specifically focused on helping bloggers get the most out of their websites. We're currently working on building a large network of online communities and hope to expand our blogging coverage to include a wide range of topics.

Advertisers

The Bloguin Network allows advertisers to promote their products and services to our ever-growing number of visitors. We offer both site-specific ad placements as well as the ability to run a network-wide campaign. If you're interested in working with Bloguin to meet your advertising needs, please contact us.

Bloggers Wanted

The Bloguin Network is always looking to expand. We're specifically looking for blogs in the sports, entertainment, and video games field, but are open to adding any type of quality site. If you're a blogger and interested in joining our network, please fill out our application form.

The Bloguin Login

The Bloguin Login gives you full access to everything our network has to offer. Your name and password will work for each and every one of our sites. Signing up is simple, and will allow you to post in all our forums, create member blogs, and access other cool features! What are you waiting for? Create an Account!