Following hot on the heels of their warmly received
debut, ‘Sing The Greys’, the bassless (instrumentally,
not geographically) three-piece have rounded up 2007 with a limited
edition Christmas single which bridges the gap between the band’s
debut and their forthcoming sophomore album, scheduled for Spring
The A-Side features a 5 and a half minute festive
romp with a slight difference. Its jingly, upbeat, choral and
catchy, (all the elements of a Christmas hit), but these elements
are soaked in an intangible, melancholy, urban-aesthetic. It is
the kind of track that could be played as a score to a Salvation
Army Christmas appeal video for the homeless rather than a score
to a video of people playing happy-families. The track also shows
another side to the band. Whilst the songs on their debut hinged
upon raw garage-rock foundations played with a emo-punk energy,
this single showcases Frightened Rabbit’s mature side and
announces their potential to create fully fledged indie-pop epics.
The B-Side is an even more ambitious experiment, utilising a 40-piece
choir, conducted and arranged by the band themselves. Using the
melodic base of the A-Side, the choir proceed to hum, chant and
purr to magical effect resulting in a very Christmassy sound,
although the vocals do start to grate towards the end leaving
the B-Side as a real novelty piece rather than a serious attempt
to outstrip the A-Side.
‘It’s Christmas So We’ll Stop’,
succeeds as a fresh and relevant track in a month filled with
a glut of commercial pap and played-to-death classics. (RM)
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