Writing a music blog has its ups and downs. Sometimes, you get the feeling that every song you listen to, you’re doing it to see if it will fit into the blog and you spend your time trying to find an interesting thing to say about it (and usually failing). For the worrisome types like me, that can get very wearing.

But other times, you hear something new and within the first ten seconds you just think “This is special. Really, really special”. I’ve had it in the past with the likes of Grizzly Bear and Broken Social Scene. I got that today with Frightened Rabbit.

Hailing from the same record label – Fat Cat Records – as The Twilight Sad and We Were Promised Jetpacks, they come from the charming Borders town of Selkirk. Maybe it’s the beautiful rolling countryside or the elegant Courtroom in the Market Place (you can tell I’ve been on Wikipedia, can’t you?), but they are an altogether cheerier proposition than their labelmates.

The Glory Of Selkirk

That’s not saying much, mind.

So anyway, I caught the video to their new song “Swim Until You Can’t See Land”, and it blew me away. I mean, the video is a thing of sheer beauty, with that crystal clear digital look illuminated by swaying torches, but the song is something else.

Starting with a chiming guitar line reminiscent of Johnny Marr’s gentler moments, the song turns into a rollicking singalong replete with strings by Hauschka and a horn section. I can’t stop playing it. As singer Scott explains:

“’Swim Until You Can’t See Land’ was the title I had in my mind before I even started writing the album; I was becoming more and more interested in the idea of a rejection of the habits and behaviour most people see as normal, and in turn embracing a certain madness. It’s about losing your mind in order to reset the mind and the body. Forget what’s gone before and wash it out. This is not necessarily a geographical journey, as the ‘swim’ can involve any activity in which you can lose yourself. It’s a good introduction to the record as the theme unravels therein.”

That’s what you get if you go and live in tiny seaside towns in Fyfe. Must try that myself, as it seems to have done him the world of good.

No Wonder They Are Frightened With That Lot Behind Them

Then, digging around a bit, I found a b-side, a marvellous cover of N-Trance’s “Set You Free”, which somehow turns a Euro-trance number into something Bonnie “Prince” Billy would have knocked out in his prime. Utterly fantastic.

Anyway, the single is out in November and there’s a whole bunch of live shows here. Must get me a ticket for that Troxy show.

I really like this blog writing business, you know. And I think I’m going to be exploring this lot’s back catalogue….

On another note, thinking of Selkirk reminded me of the phrase “Gone To Falkirk”, which reminded me of this:

Surrealism at its very finest.

Buy “Midnight Organ Fight” (CD/MP3)

MP3: Set You Free (N-Trance cover) by Frightened Rabbit

MP3: I Feel Better by Frightened Rabbit