Glasgow’s Frightened Rabbit spent much of 2007 stepping into public view, with widespread U.S. touring and the long-awaited domestic reissue of their debut album, Sing The Greys via Fatcat Records. They also spent a few weeks holed up in Bridgeport, Connecticut with producer Peter Katis (Interpol, Spoon, The National), recording their astonishing sophomore effort, The Midnight Organ Fight.

Written with the intention of creating a more “pop” sounding album, The Midnight Organ Fight is musically more immediate, but – vitally – they have not forsaken the personality or passion of any of their earlier recordings. Singer/guitarist Scott Hutchison explains: “I feel the general Frightened Rabbit weirdness is still apparent in the lyrics and this makes for an interesting sort of juxtaposition. It sounds kind of clean, but its actually pretty fucking dirty once you get listening.”

At once majestic and messy, triumphant but desperately human – The Midnight Organ Fight is a series of filmic vignettes, snapshots of self-destructing relationships and self-destructive behavior, dark snippets sewn together into an ultimately uplifting drama of the everyday.

While the songs on Sing The Greys were written over a two-year period, The Midnight Organ Fight was composed as a whole, with the band investing more time in preparation for recording. The reward reaped by this new focus is a record that sounds complete – as Scott says, “It gives it a very tangible sense of a certain time in my life, allowing the album to feel like a rounded whole as opposed to a selection of songs.”

Comprising brothers Scott (vocals, guitar) and Grant (drums, vocals) Hutchison, and Billy Kennedy (guitar, keys), Frightened Rabbit started taking shape in 2003, when Scott began playing solo shows under the name, with his brother Grant joining in 2004, and Billy completing the line-up in 2006. Somewhat atypically there is no bass, but crucially nothing is missing; Billy’s second guitar augments or bolsters Scott’s guitar/vocal hub, or drops an octave to add weight or bottom end. Grant’s drum patterns are alternately or simultaneously physical and adroit, adding accent and eloquence to the score.

Live, their accomplished performances at times recall the ragged, muscular energy of post-punk/ indie-rock power trios such as early Sebadoh, Hüsker Dü or Sleater-Kinney, but Frightened Rabbit’s oeuvre harbors a more universal agenda. Having recently won over new fans supporting bands such as Pinback and Idlewild, Frightened Rabbit will be coming to the U.S. for multiple performances at SXSW in Austin, followed by several headlining dates this spring.