Now that the elections over...

Man what a night. I don't know about where you are all from but Boston was excited last night. People took the streets once Obama had been declared winner. It reminded me of the Red Sox riot last year except there was a reason for it. But looking past Obama, this was still a huge election. Proposition 8 in California passed, banning gay marriage there. The same ban passed in Florida and Arkansas as well. Colorado shut down a proposition to define human life at the moment of fertilization. Washington passed a bill to allow assisted suicide. And my personal favorite, Massachusetts decriminalized marijuana. Heavy. These are hard issues that are finally getting some decisions made on them. Its nice to see these issues get pushed into the faces of voters. Democracy at work. Though some issues obviously did not go so well, I think just getting the issues out to the public forces people to make decisions on them and will lead to change (for the better hopefully).  Anyway, enough with the politics...onto the music. 

Frightened Rabbits are a Scottish folk/indie band that's been taking up a lot of my listening time. The four piece crafts pop songs without defaulting to the pop formula we are usually left with. Scott Hutchinson's vocals highlight one of my favorite aspects of Scottish music. His slight accent with its imperfections and cracks creates a wailing that hits you deep. He's also not afraid of a minimalist background. From the opening of Modern Leper (Get it below), a simple guitar pattern with a heavy beat gets you moving to the beat. Slowly the vocals come in followed by sparse drums accenting the guitar pattern. They manage to take such a light sound and keep the groove while at the same time building intensity. That's good music people (In my opinion, but what does that really count for). When you can get people rocking and grooving to a simply texture like that you've got something. The song is topped off with folksy guitar licks here and there and huge climaxes that will make you want to jump and dance. The rest of the album is just as solid without much repetition. Plus the album has a cool cover. Let me know what you think.

Frightened Rabbits - Modern Leper

Frightened Rabbits - Good Arms Vs. Bad Arms