What a difference a decade makes. Frightened Rabbit was once a solitary sweater-wearing student from Selkirk: Scott Hutchison frequented small stages with few songs and fewer followers. Growing into a fully-fledged band with a backlog of beautiful yet indescribable tunes, the Rabbits have found themselves caught in the spotlight and are now topping end-of-year ‘best of’ lists and selling out huge venues. In true rabbit form, the group have continued to multiply, recently adding accomplished bassist Gordon Skene to the F’Rabbits family – and are now set to enter the new decade bigger, better and louder than ever. TMM spoke to frontman Scott about highlights and hopes for the future…

How has the last year been for the band?
It’s been an unexpectedly busy and great year. One of the best things was finishing the new album [The Winter Of Mixed Drinks, released March 2010]. For me, playing Queen’s Hall in Edinburgh was a stand-out highlight: one of the most amazing things we’ve ever done. We were genuinely shocked by the amount of people there and how much they were into it. I think the second album [critically-acclaimed The Midnight Organ Fight, released 2008] took a while to get around by word of mouth and by the time August rolled around this year it was oddly at its peak and everyone knew the songs inside-out. It completely took us aback.

What’s the best thing you’ve seen or heard musically all year?
We were lucky enough to tour with a band called the Antlers in America and they are phenomenal live. The guy’s voice is just incredible. My mind always goes blank when I get asked these things but I would say they were the discovery of the year for all of us.

What’s up next for Frightened Rabbit in 2010?
The main thing is the new album. It’s been kept under wraps by the label so I’ve only played it to a few close friends and my mum and dad. They’ve predictably been very nice about it but I really want to hear the public’s reaction to it and see what they make of it. I’m looking forward to getting out there and playing the new songs as a five-piece.

What can we expect from the new album?
This album is purposefully less immediate than the last one. It’s much less in-your-face. I started writing it just after a huge tour in Australia and America, by the end of which I was shot to pieces. A mate of mine had a house up in Fife and I became a wee bit of a hermit up there for a couple of months. The experience of being on my own and being by the sea was a huge thing for me and it’s really seeped into the record. There’s that idea of loneliness and solitude and losing yourself a little bit, removing yourself from society at large and just getting healthy again. It had to be done again after that tour and it became important to me. The whole break-up theme is done and dusted and it’s definitely an album about moving on and being positive and enjoying what you have.

[youtube SzjERZU3wbY 425 344]

Was the loneliness of the writing period difficult?
I’m fully into solitude. For me, especially after that crazy tour when we were constantly on the go, loneliness became a positive thing. It’s hard to say without sounding like a hippy, but it’s good to get back to your own self, to scrape away the madness and get settled again. There are two sides to it though and some of the record is still very dark, but that’s just the way my mind tends to wander.

After the fantastic reception of the second album and the anticipation surrounding the third, are you nervous about releasing it?
I’m quietly shitting myself, but we’ll wait and see. Obviously I don’t want it to do badly, but I’m fully prepared for people’s initial reaction to be “I don’t like it as much as the last one” because that’s natural. I’ve been guilty of that myself. By the time the new one comes out, some people will have had the last one for two years and have lived with it. People are genuinely obsessed with that record and it’s a big thing for some folk. I hope they get into this one as much but it can be difficult. It’s never gonna happen on the first listen.

What are your thoughts on the drive towards download-only music as we enter the new decade?
I grew up on albums and I’m sad to see them becoming less and less relevant as a format. An album is something that works from start to finish and has a running sequence; that’s been lost with the download age. But at least it’s something that we can try to keep alive by continuing to make albums that make sense as albums.

Who are your ‘ones to watch’ for 2010?
There’s a band from Glasgow called the John Knox Sex Club who are sounding very promising. Definitely the Antlers – their new record is phenomenal – and also Mersault, who supported us recently.

Are you excited about playing a Hogmanay show in Edinburgh?
I can’t wait. I’m the only one in the band who actually lives in Edinburgh, so I’ll be home. It was an unexpectedly great year for us so we’re going to be celebrating in style. Probably not quite as stylish as some people, but I’ll put on a smart pair of trousers.

New album The Winter Of Mixed Drinks is released on FatCat Records 1 March 2010, preceded by single Nothing Like You on 22 February. For 2010 tour dates see www.myspace.com/frightenedrabbit.