For most of you, it's been a year since you probably listened to Frightened Rabbit’s
Painting of a Panic Attack, that
@Coatigan sent out this same week in 2022 in this excellent summary above.
For anyone not around here last year (like me), I have listened to this album continuously throughout the past 2 weeks as it indeed has required repeated listens to really sink in.
This band and album after listening makes me want to hear the rest of their album catalog, and I'm looking forward to that.
Onto some thoughts of each of the best (many) songs:
Death Dream - starts out appropriate for this album. "Blood seems black" says it all to me. Start slow and builds momentum for where this album is going. 2 years before Scott's death, this is almost too emotional to hear the missed clues after the fact.
Get Out - I simply love the beginning of this song. Lots of obsession on this one. "She won't, she won't"...
I Wish I Was Sober - a cry for help, an acknowledgement of ones own shortcomings. "The best of me left hours ago", "forgive me it's far too late", the song really picks up tempo to the end.
Woke Up Hurting - an appropriate album flow from the previous song (after a night of drinking?) "Plan for Heaven though Hell will do". Another musically strong song that starts of slow and really builds towards a strong end.
Still Want to Be Here - the sad thoughts of this song from a first person testament. It might be about an LA relationship, but I think of events after the fact now.
An Otherwise Disappointing Life - a really strong song musically, especially as it gets toward the end, but another post-event sad reflection of final events from 2018 - "I don't need water, I just want to wave goodbye, to an otherwise disappointing life".
400 Bones - an incredibly powerful first person love song, more lyrically than musically, but both complement each other quite well. "in which the pillow leave a cold upon your face".
Lump Street - love this song musically, especially as it ends to the hopeful "Get it together man, find hope / there is life beyond the world you already know.”
Die Like A Rich Boy - song from the vantage point of someone poor who feels his life won't matter as compared to the rich with all the metaphors of that.
I realize the final 3 songs are not part of the original album, and that song feels to be an appropriate ending of the album.
If you missed this a year ago, give this indie band from Scotland a listen. I'd be curious if anyone's minds have also changed on this one after the fact, a year later. Is this a band or album you've listened more of since?
This one is still growing on me, and despite the mostly depressing and actually sobering lyrics, this to me is a strong 8 musically and probably will be one on my playlist with other albums to listen to going forward.
