Recorded last summer at The Captain’s Rest in Glasgow, Liver! Lung! FR! sees local indie group Frightened Rabbit perform acoustic versions of tracks from their second album, The Midnight Organ Flight. That record enjoyed considerable critical praise upon its release last year, and was cited as one of the best albums of 2008 by members of Jimmy Eat World, Biffy Clyro and Death Cab For Cutie (Frightened Rabbit have also supported the latter two groups).
Whilst the songs are presented in pared-down fashion, Liver! never strays into dreary singer-songwriter territory. Indeed, the stripped back performances actually complement the confessional nature of the songs (FR’s frontman, Scott Hutchison, wrote about the break-up of a relationship on The Midnight Organ Flight). Additionally, the arrangements also boast imaginative touches such as bluesy guitar, ethereal keyboards, sweet vocal harmonies and propulsive drumming.
At times, the music is truly gripping – there’s even a touch of Arcade Fire on stand-out track ‘Old Old Fashioned’, both in the driving rhythm and the modern-life-is-rubbish lyrics (“I turn off the TV, it’s killing us, we never speak/There’s a radio in the corner that’s dying to make us see… Let’s get old-fashioned/ Back to how things used to be.”)
Never less than captivating, Liver! Lung! FR! is a highly impressive album.

Key track: ‘Old Old Fashioned’