Frightened Rabbit - Head Rolls Off
'Jesus is just a spanish boys name/how come one man got so much fame?" is a fantastic opening gambit, one that is gonna be very hard to follow or live up to. Sadly, it was no surprise to hear things then deteriorate slowly but surely into inevitable checkmate and slumping defeat.
A typical lumpen indie beat has typical lumpen indie guitar thinly spread over it until it climaxes in a typically boring, lumpen indie fashion. The strained highland vocals and attempt at emotional candour recall that of a far, far superior Idlewild and only serve to remind me that I haven't listened to them for a while, and that I really should do cos this is a bit crap in comparison...
B-side and cover of the (dare I say) classic 'Set you free' by 90's dance/house peddlers N-trance is nice enough and amusing to hear in a new quaintly delicate setting, but wears thin after that all too familiar hook goes round and round too many times not to be annoying.
Lacking any power, backbone or indeed much to redeem a severely lacklustre effort, Frightened Rabbit sound exactly as their moniker would suggest. Whether this is the point or not, frankly I couldn't care.