Death Cab For Cutie

Frightened Rabbit

by Jordan Dowling [Edit this content] ▾ 22 comments 14:44 November 19th, 2008

Venue:
Rock City, Nottingham »

Once the current fad for soulless dance and substanceless noise dies down The Midnight Organ Fight will be rightly regarded as one of the highlights of 2008. It is an album of top-to-bottom quality; of weary tales, singalong (if oft explicit) lyrics and irresistible hooks. Frightened Rabbit's sophomore album was a giant step up from its predecessor Sing The Greys, and the band are making similar progressions live.

'I Feel Better' is still an awkward and questionable opener; sounding tinny and slightly two-dimensional and on the whole devoid of the power it holds on record, but the band soon hit form with 'Old Old Fashioned' and 'The Twist'. Frightened Rabbit are at their strongest here, throwing rough drunken vocal melodies in front of trebly guitars and pounding drums. Some of the intimacy is lost, perhaps also inevitable due to the size of the venue, inside a crowd of non-plussed, though appreciative, Death Cab For Cutie fans, whose main point of comparison for the Scottish four-piece seem to be Biffy Clyro, but the band power through with boundless energy and grit, leaving Death Cab to feel uncomfortably flat.

Despite playing to a sold-out crowd, who clearly know every word, there is a distinct lack of atmosphere and genuine excitement. It feels that the crowd feel they owe the band adulation, not that they command it. The strange curve of the setlist, travelling from the dull/dulcet opening couplet of 'The Employment Pages' and 'Your Heart Is An Empty Room' to more upbeat numbers pays in part to this. After the ramshakle burst of Frightened Rabbit, the Seattle quartet really needed to explode out of the blocks instead of lulling the audience into a daze.

By the time they stumble into the halfway point of their set, squashed shoulder to waist with throngs of 14+s, it is more than tempting to make an exit. Whilst most will go home with Death Cab merchandise and proclaim their love on blogs and status updates, there is nothing offered to warrant devotion or even acclaim.

Death Cab For Cutie 5 / 10

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Comments

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I thought they were realy good

deserved at least an 8.

Domonic_91 | 19 Nov '08, 14:55 | X | Reply

Heathen.

Burn yourself at the steak after washing your mouth out with acid.

themighty @Domonic_91 | 19 Nov '08, 15:13 | X | Reply

Frightened Rabbit

was an 8 by the way. doesnt seem to want to put their score on.

Jordan_229_2 | 19 Nov '08, 15:17 | X | Reply

I thought Frightened Rabbit went down well

with the Death Cab fans/Newt from Hollyoaks brigade. Not that I stayed around to watch Death Cab of course....here's an alternative(ish) review.
http://www.contactmusic.com/new/home.nsf/review/frightened-rabbit-livex17x11x08

domgourlay @Jordan_229_2 | 19 Nov '08, 15:21 | X | Reply

bet they were - FR are ace

good review

spawk @Jordan_229_2 | 19 Nov '08, 16:02 | X | Reply

thank you

*tips hat*

Jordan_229_2 @spawk | 19 Nov '08, 16:25 | X | Reply

well in edinburgh

death cab were fucking amazing, despite playing the most horrendous of venues. As an older fan I really appreciate the addition of early material. They played title track in edinburgh and while it fell flat amongst the majority present, it made me very happy.

thedrill @Jordan_229_2 | 19 Nov '08, 16:45 | X | Reply

well as long as yr happy :)

Jordan_229_2 @thedrill | 19 Nov '08, 16:48 | X | Reply

i thought

frightened rabbit were good, very good they impress me very much every time i get to see them.

i believe death cab were good, it was a good show. but you are wholly right on the slow start. they definitely didn't command the evening. and to me, they played way too many songs from plans whereas the photo album was lacking a pluck...

i always love transatlanticism finish though.

andyg52 | 19 Nov '08, 16:49 | X | Reply

yeah

not really alternative as i just lifted the bulk of your review.

Jordan_229_2 @domgourlay | 19 Nov '08, 16:57 | X | Reply

I thought the older material all went down really well in Edinburgh

and the whole set was brilliant (even if they only played one song from the photo album).

Frightened Rabbit were let down by the crap sound though which was a shame but still seemed to go down really well :D it was really weird seeing them play in a big hall as well!

captain_self_healer @thedrill | 19 Nov '08, 18:43 | X | Reply

How many times can you use the word really in one reply?

captain_self_healer @captain_self_healer | 19 Nov '08, 18:44 | X | Reply

This review is total toss.

Frightened Rabbit were lost in a hall that big, sound was awful and their refusal to employ a bass in 90% of their songs only helped to make them sound even more tinny. Live, his vocals aren't so much tortured as plainly out of tune.

Death Cab, on the other hand, were magnificent. Leaving half way through? You're either mad, jaded or complacent.

Opening with Employment Pages was a stroke of genius and only proves how dedicated this band is to creating a truly nuanced set.

If you're failing to see why in the likes of Bixby, Why you'd Want To Live Here or Transatlanticism, as the ultimate show closer, they don't 'warrant devotion or even acclaim' you don't deserve to be palming this bullshit, half baked opinion onto us in this 'offical' capacity.

themighty @captain_self_healer | 19 Nov '08, 19:16 | X | Reply

This was more of a Frightened Rabbit review than a Death Cab review.

And whilst I think the Frightened Rabbit record was one of the best of the year, DCFC have been unfairly overlooked here. Particularly the earlier stuff, which, if listened to properly, is lyrically outstanding.
But a Plans heavy set? Meh.

chris_armo | 19 Nov '08, 19:27 | X | Reply

In Bristol they played equal amounts Transatlanticism, Plans and Narrow Stairs songs

I really liked how balanced the set was, and it was great to hear stuff from the Forbidden Love EP and Something About Airplanes. Although they never really took off at any point, they were consistently wonderful, and didn't pander to the crowd, plus closing with Transatlanticism was pretty affecting. I genuinely hated Frightened Rabbit - they were painful to watch, and their lyrics were dreadful.

thephotobooth @chris_armo | 19 Nov '08, 20:09 | X | Reply