Frightened Rabbit - Northumbria Uni - 23/11/2010 (Gig)

As the scene of my ‘education’, Northumbria University will always hold a special place in my heart, primarily because of the many sweaty, boozy hours I spent in its Student Union watching bands both good and bad. However, as I have gradually degenerated from a hip ‘n’ happenin’ snake-hipped teen to a doughy late twenties office drone, so too did Northumbria fall from its pedestal as a regular fixture in Newcastle’s gig scene. Now though, after a major refit which has included reducing the capacity of the upstairs room (and in the process massively improving its atmosphere), it appears that the place is slowly trying to claw its way back into favour, having recently nabbed a couple of gigs which would usually be shoe-ins for one of the Academy venues. If you’ve ever been to the Academy in Newcastle, you’ll agree this is undoubtedly no bad thing.

Frightened Rabbit’s visit to Northumbria comes at the end of a successful year which is about to climax with a slot at Bowlie 2 in a couple of weeks, which seems a fitting way to celebrate how nicely their third record The Winter of Mixed Drinks has consolidated the massive critical acclaim which was liberally lobbed at previous album The Midnight Organ Fight. In keeping with all the good cheer surrounding the band (although Scott will hear nothing of the festive season until we’re into December), they are in wonderfully relaxed and amiable form tonight. The set is made up almost completely of the last two records (with the exception of Be Less Rude), which, to be fair, illustrates the massive bounds Frightened Rabbit have made as a band since their earliest days.

As time has gone on, there’s no doubt that their music has grown more polished. Obviously, this isn’t always a positive step, and it’s been the death of plenty of bands before them, but in Frightened Rabbit’s case the progression of their sound it has felt like a logical, organic growth, taking place as they have gradually accumulated members and grown in both confidence and stature. Clearly, the self-deprecating emotional heft wielded by the lyrics has always been a major factor in making their songs so fucking stirring, but it feels like we’re now at a point where it’s not just about Scott’s words, because the music is every bit as enriching.

It‘s not unfair to say that The Winter of Mixed Drinks has taken a while to fully seep into people’s hearts and minds, and it’s possible that this is due to it being so different from its predecessor (ie it’s not a heart-shredding break-up record) but now that we’ve had nine months or so to live with them, the newer songs are sitting comfortably alongside their older counterparts. Indeed, Swim Until You Can’t See Land, and encore closer The Loneliness and the Scream are two of the evening’s high points, providing just as much singalong potential as the likes of I Feel Better and The Modern Leper.

As it turns out though, it ends up being two of The Midnight Organ Fight’s more tender moments which stand out most this evening. Poke and Good Arms vs Bad Arms are delivered solo by Scott, and it’s raw, gut-punching stuff. These songs serve to prove that no matter what strengths Frightened Rabbit develop as a band, ultimately, the thing they will always do best is to articulate the bleakest depths of lovelorn misery, and drag you down there with them. It’s undoubtedly a ride worth taking though.

December Singles Round Up

Those of you with a stock pile of back issues of Narc and too much time (or perhaps a worryingly precise memory) will be able to note that the last time I manned the singles column I made an ill-fated crack about how futile the attempts to sabotage Cowell’s dominance of the Christmas singles chart usually are (and subsequently lobbed my crystal ball in the Tyne). Well, I’m in no mood for such folly this time round but I will at least make a not-that-bold guess a that none of the singles I’m highlighting this month are likely to top the charts come Christmas day. Not that it’s a bad month, mind you, it’s a bloody strong one actually considering December’s usual truce between good taste and big bucks.

Unquestionably foremost among December’s 45s is the double A-Side from Vancouver’s Shimmering Stars, a band who appear to have shamelessly lifted the best bits of C86 and The Beach Boys and mashed them together in expert fashion. East Van Girls and its more laid-back cousin I’m Gonna Try are both exemplary chunks of sunny guitar japery, which are as impressively well-crafted as they are exhilarating. You can expect blogging types to be absolutely all over this lot next year.

A similarly lovely effort is Cambridge brother-sister duo The Cordelier Club’s Don’t Let it Go By, which is a lush example of how good guitar pop needn’t necessarily be particularly complicated, or even all that original. Indeed, both of the aforementioned bands could teach We Are Enfant Terrible that being derivative doesn’t always have to mean being boring. Sure, their double A-Side Wild Child / We Are Flesh n Blood Kids shows them to be perfectly competent handlers of catchy synth-pop, but there’s absolutely fuck all separating them from the dozens of bands making basically exactly the same records. The same thing could also easily be said about Primary 1, whose single Never Know is just as inoffensive a piece of electro pop as WAEF’s, and just as unremarkable.

Speaking of imitators, this month sees the welcome return of Panda Bear, a man who has almost single-handedly initiated a generation of low-fi sonic explorers, which is both a good and a bad thing. Last Night at the Jetty incorporates his usual dreamy ambience, his usual starry-eyed wonderment and his usual blissful sense of disorientation underpinning the song. With new album Tomboy due to land next year, this is an early indication that the record could be pretty special.

The second of this month’s more experimental efforts is Dog Bite’s Machino Machino, which takes its cue from Deerhunter’s recent work, so it’s heavy on echoey vocals and muddy guitars. It’s enjoyable enough, but there’s no denying that it feels a bit lightweight, to the extent that it’s difficult to keep your attention focused on it. A decidedly more engaging piece of music than this is Civil Civic’s Light on a Leash, which is a beautifully laid-out instrumental which veers unexpectedly from an ominous post-punk intro to a barmy synthy meltdown about halfway through. It’s addictive stuff, and in a weaker month would probably be top of the heap.

The only cover in the pile this month is Dirty Projectors’ take on Dylan’s As I Went Out One Morning, which, mystifyingly, turns out to be crushingly non-descript. It’s a shame that a band normally so adroit with a bit of loveable lunacy would bother to toss out a half-arsed effort like this, but at least it’s only a between album space-saver. A much better bit of folky fun comes from Lupen Crook with Dorothy Deserves, which is an exhilarating and enormously likeable bit of quirky stop-start pop which is up there with the best of this month.

Minus the Bear - O2 Academy 2 - 16/11/2010 (Gig)

It takes a hardy soul to brave the rancorous North-East winter when it is not absolutely necessary, so it is to the credit of Serious Young Men Newcastle-wide that the Academy 2 is two-thirds full on a night when the freezing fog stings your nostrils. Those present tonight are rewarded for their courage with an exemplary set of beard-stroking virtuosity from a Minus the Bear who are taking a welcome side-step from their current Jimmy Eat World support slots. This, in fact, may be the reason why tonight feels like a one-off rather than just another leg of a tour, and may be why the band are so relaxed and engaging between songs, in a manner which belies the solemn nature of their music. It’s the sheer skilfulness of their musicianship which is most impressive though, constantly illustrating the fact that these are five fucking talented people. The intricacy and melodiousness of their playing often calls to mind a less abstract version of Battles, although unlike their meandering countrymen, Minus the Bear’s musical detours usually give the impression that they are leading somewhere. Tonight we have witnessed a criminally underrated band whose passion and skill deserves a wider audience.