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Frightened Rabbit play their first headline show in two years at Glasgow's Art School

09 March 2016, 09:00 | Written by Andrew Hannah

After two years off , Frightened Rabbit made a triumphant - and not so secret - return to the live scene last night at Glasgow's Art School venue.

Despite playing in front of a home crowd, front man Scott Hutchison admitted that he had been "shitting myself" ahead of playing songs from the band's new Aaron Dessner produced album Painting of a Panic Attack. Yet within one song the singer was telling the audience it was "fucking great" to be back.

Wisely mixing fan favourites with tracks from the band's forthcoming record, Frightened Rabbit made it look and sound like they had never been away. What's striking about the new songs is just how direct they appear, even against what we heard on last album Pedestrian Verse. The pre-gig mix of songs by The National and Yankee Hotel Foxtrot era Wilco were a decent pointer to what followed; not mimicry as such but a nod to two bands who pushed through similar difficult tiimes to produce their best work.

The most obvious change in Frightened Rabbit is that all five members seemed happy to be back on stage making music together. While Painting of a Panic Attack might not sound like a positive title, the evidence on stage was very much to the contrary. The fire is back in this band, and 2016 could be their year.

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