Frightened Rabbit
The Midnight Organ Fight (Fat Cat)
Critically acclaimed, Nashville-based LGBTQ+ indie-rock artist Abby Nissenbaum told us about her love for a Frightened Rabbit gem...
Abby Nissenbaum: I was a junior in college the first time I heard Frightened Rabbit's classic song, Head Rolls Off. The year was 2013, and back then, there were no Spotify AI DJs or hyper-specific TikTok algorithms directing you to new music you might like -- if you wanted to be on the cutting edge of the indie scene, you had to do it the old fashioned way (through word of mouth). One of my friends, who was much cooler and far more in sync with the indie music landscape than I was, had burned me a CD with various songs but no titles or artist names.
As a former emo kid who was still inexplicably angsty at 20, I immediately took to Scott Hutchison's morbid, yet hope-tinged lyrics: "When my blood stops, someone else's will not/ When my head rolls off, someone else's will turn/ And while I'm alive, I'll make tiny changes to Earth." I loved the drama, the poetry, and Scott's thick Scottish accent wailing through each lyric. I asked my friend to tell me the artist's name, and she was shocked I hadn't heard of Frightened Rabbit, citing the album ("The Midnight Organ Fight") as an indie rock staple. It had only been out for a few years at that point, but the fact that so many people saw the album as a bona fide classic serves as a testament to how many listeners' lives Scott Hutchison touched, and his immense talent as a songwriter and musician.
Throughout my college career and into graduate school, I found comfort and companionship in Scott Hutchison's words and melodies in The Midnight Organ Fight. If I had a fight with a girlfriend, or a breakup, "Poke" was the obvious go-to. For the times when I was struck with loneliness or felt like an outcast in my own life, "The Modern Leper" was just a push of the play button away. And, when I made it to the final interview phase for my top choice PhD program, but ultimately didn't make the final roster, I listened to "Floating in the Forth" on repeat as catharsis. I felt like my life was over, but was buoyed by the fact that one of the most talented musicians in the world had once felt as badly as I did in that moment. That, to me, was as good a signal as any that I wasn't alone and, even in my pain and failure, maybe still had something to offer the world too.
I never got to see Frightened Rabbit perform live before Scott's untimely and tragic death in 2018. However, Frightened Rabbit and The Midnight Organ Fight were, and remain, deeply influential to my songwriting and my life. And, as Scott inspired us all to do, I hope to continue making my tiny changes to Earth.
Abby Nissenbaum's "Why Does No On Want Me" is out now. An EP drops in June.
