Scotland’s Frightened Rabbit has been busy as the summer charges toward the finish line, readying a five-track EP entitled State Hospital, dropping videos for the EP’s title track and acoustic takes on that song as well as one other, and announcing a load of tour dates across northern Europe and the States, including an October gig at The Independent. Oh yeah, and they’re doing all of this in anticipation of their third full-length album, the follow-up to 2010’s The Winter of Mixed Drinks and their first on Atlantic Records.
Singer/guitarist Scott Hutchison broke the news of the State Hospital EP in a blog post, telling fans,
The fruits of our labour are nearing your ears. That is to say, we’re releasing our tidy wee EP ‘State Hospital’ very soon and wanted to let you know a few things about it. It contains five songs. The title track is the first snippet from our next album, but the rest of the tracks are unique to this release, even though they were all contenders for the full-length at one point or another. I suppose certain songs just don’t fit in to an album, but we thought these four still deserved to be given more than simply ‘B-side’ status. Because we had been writing and demo-ing for this record for some time, we found ourselves sitting on a lot of songs at the beginning of the year. Too many really, if there is such a thing. You’ll be glad to hear that we didn’t even toy with the idea of a double album, probably because we weren’t taking any drugs. So this seemed like the best way to show off the extras and give you a taste of things to come.
The band had previously dropped the video for the EP’s title track, a ghostly, gripping, and warm song that invokes a swell of emotion not unfamiliar to Hutchison and company’s catalog. Check out the video below, directed by Hand Held Cine Club.
After the jump, check out videos of stark, acoustic versions of “State Hospital” and the EP’s second track “Boxing Night”, as well full details on the upcoming release and Frightened Rabbit’s upcoming tour, which will find them setting up shop at The Independent in San Francisco on October 18th, 2012.
Frightened Rabbit – “State Hospital” Frightened Rabbit – “Boxing Night” [Acoustic Demo] State Hospital EP Tracklisting: Frightened Rabbit Tour Dates: Frightened Rabbit, Arc In Sound
1. State Hospital
2. Boxing Night
3. Home From War
4. Off
5. Wedding Gloves (Feat. Aidan Moffat)
09/14 – Dublin, Ireland – Academy
09/15 – Belfast, Northern Ireland – Empire
09/18 – London, England – 93 Feet East
09/19 – Manchester, England – Deaf Institue
09/24 – Dumfries, Scotland – The Venue
09/25 – Selkirk, Scotland – Victoria Hall
09/29 – Paris, France – Flèche d’Or
09/30 – Cologne, Germany – GEBÄUDE 9
10/01 – Berlin, Germany – Roter Salon
10/02 – Amsterdam, Holland – Paradiso
10/03 – Brussels, Belgium – Botanique
10/05 – Philadelphia, PA – Johnny Brenda’s
10/06 – Boston, MA – Brighton Music Hall
10/07 – Washington, DC – Black Cat
10/08 – New York, NY – Bowery Ballroom
10/10 – Toronto, ON – The Mod Club Theater
10/11 – Chicago, IL – Lincoln Hall
10/12 – Minneapolis, MN – The Woman’s Club
10/15 – Seattle, WA – Triple Door
10/17 – Eugene, OR – WOW Hall
10/18 – San Francisco, CA – The Independent
10/19 – Los Angeles, CA – The Troubadour
10/20 – San Diego, CA – The Irenic
10/21 – Santa Ana, CA – Constellation Room
The Independent
October 18, 2012
8:00pm, $20
