The Winter of Mixed Drinks

An ex of mine complained about my own music while we were dating, saying “you can’t make every song sound like the last song on the record.” To which Frightened Rabbit respond time and again “hold my many many many beers.” The Winter of Mixed Drinks is buzzy, stompy, sincere indie rock from the era when indie rock was allowed to still be those things. Frontman and lyricist Scott Hutchison weaves tale after blurry tale of desperate escapism and self-destructive euphoria, making oblivion seeking escapades sound like psalms that worm their way into your chest.  Though the elements were recorded piecemeal, the band never sounds as thunderously tight as they do on the barrelhouse “Nothing Like You,” anthemic “Swim Until You Can’t See Land,” the skittering “Skip The Youth,” and heartpounding “Living In Colour.”