Frightened Rabbit was a Scottish indie rock band from Selkirk, formed in 2003. Initially a solo project for vocalist and guitarist Scott Hutchison, the final lineup of the band consisted of Hutchison, his brother Grant (drums), Billy Kennedy, Andy Monaghan, and Simon Liddell (guitar).
Since 2004, the band was based in Glasgow.
members: Scott Hutchison, Grant Hutchison
formed in: Selkirk
genres: indie rock, indie folk
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In 2003, vocalist and guitarist Scott Hutchison used the name Frightened Rabbit, which came from a name his mother gave him in his youth due to his chronic shyness, as a stage moniker for his solo shows. The project became a full-fledged band with the addition of his brother Grant Hutchison on drums in 2004, and guitarist Billy Kennedy in 2006. Hutchinson would send out CD-R's of recordings adding biscuits to the packaging to make an impression.
Underlined songs have their story further down.
State Hospital is an EP by Scottish indie rock band Frightened Rabbit, released on 24 September 2012 on Atlantic Records. Produced by both Leo Abrahams and the band itself, the EP includes the single, "State Hospital", alongside four tracks written and recorded in contention for the band's fourth studio album, Pedestrian Verse.
In early 2012, Frightened Rabbit performed a number of small-scale, secret shows in order to preview new material the band had been working on. Amongst the new tracks performed were "State Hospital" and "Boxing Night", with the band continuing to perform these tracks, amongst others, during a tour of the Scottish Highlands. Regarding this tour, Hutchison noted, "I like the idea that some of the audience will know the songs and the band, but there's often an atmosphere of, 'There's a band in town, let's go to see them and see what they're like'. If you've got some people in that you need to bring round and onto your music then that's one of my favourite challenges."
Regarding the EP's final four tracks, and their exclusion from their forthcoming album, the band stated, "We had been writing and demo-ing for this record for some time, we found ourselves sitting on a lot of songs at the beginning of the year. Too many really, if there is such a thing. You’ll be glad to hear that we didn’t even toy with the idea of a double album, probably because we weren’t taking any drugs."
Drowned in Sound gave the EP a positive review, stating, "State Hospital is the sound of a band renewed, invigorated and impassioned and pretty damned far from selling out. [...] Even if [these tracks are b-sides], these 20 minutes are of a higher quality than many, many bands manage in a whole career." This Is Fake DIY also gave the EP a positive review, stating, "This is an album's cutting room floor yet each song still retains Hutchison's instantly recognisable Scottish drawl, infectious hooks and intelligent lyrics."