Love is bullshit. So reckons Chuck Palahniuk, the man with the lump of coal for a heart. Once, it seemed that Scott Hutchison was the Fight Club author’s most fervent follower, but ‘The Winter Of Mixed Drinks’ paints a picture of a man who, while still an emotional wreck, is suffused with sudden optimism. For every song of heartache (‘Yes, I Would’) and self-loathing (‘The Loneliness & The Scream’), there’s one of redemption (‘Foot Shooter’) or hope (‘Swim Until You Can’t See Land’). The album deviates from their previous alt-folkish sensibilities: the fuzzed-up shoegazing of ‘Things’ and the anthemic chorus of ‘Living In Colour’ herald an exciting new bullshit-free dawn.
Click here to get your copy of Frightened Rabbit’s ‘The Winter Of Mixed Drinks’ from the Rough Trade shop