''Pedestrian Verse'' is the fourth studio album by the Scottish

indie rock Indie rock is a Music subgenre, subgenre of rock music that originated in the United Kingdom, United States and New Zealand in the early to mid-1980s. Although the term was originally used to describe rock music released through independent reco ...

band

Frightened Rabbit Frightened Rabbit were 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 Kenned ...

, released on 4 February 2013 on

Atlantic Records Atlantic Recording Corporation (simply known as Atlantic Records) is an American record label founded in October 1947 by Ahmet Ertegun and Herb Abramson. Over the course of its first two decades, starting from the release of its first recor ...

. Produced by

Leo Abrahams Leo Matthew Abrahams (born 28 November 1977) is an English musician, composer and producer. He has collaborated with Brian Eno, Katie Melua, Imogen Heap, Jarvis Cocker, Carl Barât, Regina Spektor, Jon Hopkins and Paul Simon. After attending th ...

and the band itself, it is the only studio album to feature guitarist and keyboardist Gordon Skene, who departed from Frightened Rabbit following the album's accompanying tour. Partly inspired by a break-up, the album features increased songwriting contributions from each member of the band.

Background

Frightened Rabbit released their third studio album, ''

The Winter of Mixed Drinks ''The Winter of Mixed Drinks'' is the third studio album by Scottish indie rock band Frightened Rabbit, released on 1 March 2010 through independent label FatCat Records. As with its predecessor, the critically acclaimed '' The Midnight Organ Fi ...

'', on 1 March 2010 through

independent label An independent record label (or indie label) is a record label that operates without the funding or distribution of major record labels; they are a type of small- to medium-sized enterprise, or SME. The labels and artists are often represente ...

FatCat Records FatCat Records is an English independent record label based in Brighton. The label's output reaches into many styles including experimental rock, electronica, psychedelic folk, contemporary classical, noise and post-punk. Notable artists that ...

. That November, the band signed to

. In the official statement from drummer

Grant Hutchison Grant Hutchison (born 13 June 1984) is a Scottish drummer and percussionist. He is best known as the drummer of the indie rock band Frightened Rabbit, with whom he recorded five studio albums. In 2022, Hutchison joined The Twilight Sad after a f ...

, the band planned to take time off from touring to write new material. Their first release through Atlantic was '' A Frightened Rabbit EP'', a three-track

extended play An extended play (EP) is a Sound recording and reproduction, musical recording that contains more tracks than a Single (music), single but fewer than an album. Contemporary EPs generally contain up to eight tracks and have a playing time of 1 ...

that was made available for

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on 19 October 2011. ''A Frightened Rabbit EP'' was followed by the five-track EP ''

State Hospital The State Hospital (also known as Carstairs Hospital, or simply Carstairs) is a psychiatric hospital located close to the villages of Carstairs and Carstairs Junction, in South Lanarkshire, Scotland. It provides care and treatment in conditions ...

'', released on 24 September 2012. While an acoustic version of the title track was leaked online early, the studio version debuted on 15 August 2012 on

Zane Lowe Alexander Zane Reed Lowe (born 1973) is a New Zealand radio DJ, live DJ, record producer, and television presenter. After an early career in music creation, production and DJing, he moved to the UK in 1997. He came to prominence through pr ...

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program. An official

music video A music video is a video that integrates a song or an album with imagery that is produced for promotion (marketing), promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a music marketing device intended to ...

for the song, directed by Hand Held Cine Club, was released on 20 August. Out of the five tracks on the EP, only the title track would appear on ''Pedestrian Verse''. In a statement, frontman

Scott Hutchison Scott John Hutchison (20 November 1981 – 9 May 2018) was a Scottish singer, songwriter, guitarist and artist. He was the founding member and primary songwriter of the indie rock band Frightened Rabbit, with whom he recorded five studio albums ...

said that every song on the EP had been considered for the album, but that "certain songs just don't fit in to an album".

Writing and recording

''Pedestrian Verse'' differed from the recording of the band's other records in that songs were written and practised while on tour, rather than having the songs being novel when recording was commenced, giving the songs a more "worn-in" feel, rather than an "edgy" one. The record also marked the first instance of lead songwriter Scott Hutchison sharing the role with the rest of the band. As a result, Hutchison has stated that ''Pedestrian Verse'' is the best record that the band has produced. In the writing of the album, Hutchison initially set out to create songs with broader subject matter, rather than just referring to his personal relationships. However, during the process of writing the album, Hutchison experienced another break-up, found that "it was all he could think about," leaving the record with a more "personal" section. The title of the album is taken from a line in the song "State Hospital", which features as track 9 on the album.

Release and promotion

On 7 November 2012, Frightened Rabbit announced the details of their upcoming album, including the title, cover art, release date, and track listing. The first track for ''Pedestrian Verse'', "Dead Now", was released on 20 November 2012, and accompanied by a video filmed during their last United States tour. Follow-up single "The Woodpile" debuted on Zane Lowe's show on 11 December, with a music video released the next day. "The Woodpile" was officially released as a

single Single may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * Single (music), a song release Songs * "Single" (Natasha Bedingfield song), 2004 * "Single" (New Kids on the Block and Ne-Yo song), 2008 * "Single" (William Wei song), 2016 * "Single", by ...

on 28 January. ''Pedestrian Verse'' was released on 4 February 2013. On 22 February, Frightened Rabbit released a music video for new single "Backyard Skulls", depicting the band performing in a high school gymnasium after a school dance. They followed this with two non-album singles. The first was a cover of the Scottish folk song "Norland Wind", originally performed by

Jim Reid James McLeish Reid (born 29 December 1961) is a Scottish singer/songwriter and the lead singer for the alternative rock band The Jesus and Mary Chain, which he formed with his elder brother and guitarist William Reid (musician), William Reid ...

using lyrics from a poem by Violet Jacobs. The cover, featuring Lau, was made available for pre-order on 21 March 2013, and was available as a limited physical release for

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. The second, "Architect", was a Record Store Day promotional track in collaboration with

Manchester Orchestra Manchester Orchestra is an American indie rock band from Atlanta, Georgia, that formed in 2004. The group's current line-up is composed of lead singer, songwriter and rhythm guitarist Andy Hull, lead guitarist Robert McDowell, bassist Andy Pri ...

, released on 20 April 2013. Additionally, Frightened Rabbit released the ''Backyard Skulls''

on 31 March, featuring the title track, alternate versions of ''Pedestrian Verse'' tracks "The Woodpile" and "Holy", and a live performance of "Acts of Man".

Reception

Critical response to ''Pedestrian Verse'' has been positive. At

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, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream

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, the album received an average score of 79, based on 26 reviews, which indicates "Generally favorable reviews". Nick Meredith of ''The Underclassed'' gave the album a positive review stating that "Not only has their style diversified, they have managed to blend all the good things from their previous offerings into one cohesive album". It won Scottish music website ''The Pop Cops annual Best Album award.

Track listing

All songs written by Frightened Rabbit, lyrics written by Scott Hutchison.

Personnel

- lead vocals, rhythm guitar * Billy Kennedy - lead guitar, keyboards, backing vocals, additional bass * Andy Monaghan - bass guitar, additional guitar, keyboards, backing vocals * Gordan Skene - guitar, keyboards, backing vocals *

- drums, percussion, backing vocals

Production

* Produced by Leo Abrahams * Mixed by Craig Silvey * Artwork and photography by Scott Hutchison, dlt, and Joby Barnard.

Charts

References

{{Authority control 2013 albums Frightened Rabbit albums Albums produced by Leo Abrahams Atlantic Records albums