Warren of One: Frightened Rabbit

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SCOTT HUTCHISON WAS so shy as a kid that he'd retreat into a corner of a room during social situations and not say a word. His anxiety was so acute his mother compared him to a "frightened rabbit."

The name stuck, even if Hutchison's more comfortable in a crowd now. In fact, Frightened Rabbit has been drawing bigger and bigger audiences to its emotionally raw and melodically rich songs. "Good Arms vs. Bad Arms," a track from Frightened Rabbit's recent album, "The Midnight Organ Fight," made it onto "Grey's Anatomy," which is the same show that helped break Snow Patrol, another formerly scrappy Scottish indie band, into the American mainstream.

"I don't watch 'Grey's Anatomy,'" Hutchison said, "but part of my brain really just enjoys that side of media and life — it's kind of cozy [working in the mainstream]. But I guess there's a side of the music that's not so cozy as well, which hopefully sets us apart from sounding like the Care Bears."

It's not that Hutchison aspires to win the hearts of teenagers in middle America with his earnest and open songs of relationships gone sour and personal demons, but he also has no desire to keep Frightened Rabbit in the indie-rock ghetto.

"I've always had more poppy ambitions," he said. "Perhaps not an all-out arena-rock Snow Patrol sound, but certainly just to do what I want to do, as opposed to being awful on purpose."

"The Midnight Organ Fight" was produced by Peter Katis, who has recorded Interpol, Spoon and The National, and he captured Frightened Rabbit's passion — particularly Hutchison's gorgeously cracking, brogue-heavy voice — in a way the group's first record, "Sing the Greys," only hinted at. (Then again, that record started as a demo that the group's label, Fat Cat, loved so much it decided to release it.)

But it's not just the sound of "The Midnight Organ Fight" that's improved; Hutchison's compositions on the CD are even more sharply drawn character sketches that wrestle with faith ("Head Rolls Off"), self-destruction ("Keep Yourself Warm") and his tortured love life with one particular woman — who is well aware the album is all about her. Is she bothered or flattered by Hutchison's attention?

"I don't know about flattered," he laughs. "I've never spoken about it at length [with her]. It's perhaps the best means I have to communicate."

» Black Cat, 1811 14th St. NW; with Oxford Collapse and Takka Takka, Mon., 8:30 p.m., $10; 800-551-7328. (U St.-Cardozo)

FULL Q+A:

» EXPRESS: I was surprised to see "The Midnight Organ Fight" was, by far, the album I've listened to most this year — at least according to my Last.fm stats. But I guess I've been living with the record, playing it nearly every day, which I don't normally get to do with my job. What was the last album you were obsessed with and listened to every day?
» HUTCHISON The last time I really did that was the second Brendan Benson album, "Lapalco." For a while now I haven't had a permanent place [to live]; I don't have an iPod either. But that was a while ago, actually; that was six years ago.

» EXPRESS: You've talked about how Frightened Rabbit isn't reinventing the wheel musically, but people really respond to the band because your personality comes through very strongly in your lyrics and singing; it feels very personal, and people can relate to it.
» HUTCHISON One of my favorite things that comes up when people talk about the band is that they can't quite put their finger on what it is we're doing, even though it's almost like they've head it before. It's one favorite descriptions of the band is that they can't describe it fully.

» EXPRESS: I like how you've said you have poppy aspirations, in that you want to make your music sound the best it can be — even though you started off as being dubbed and "indie" band. But then your song "Good Arms vs. Bad Arms" made it onto "Grey's Anatomy," which is the same way another formerly scrappy indie band, Snow Patrol, broke big in the U.S.
» HUTCHISON The scrappy indie thing came about simply because of the means we had. I've always had more poppy ambitions. Perhaps not an all out arena rock Snow Patrol sound, but certainly just to do what I want to do, as opposed to being awful on purpose.

I don't watch "Grey's Anatomy," but part of my brain really just enjoys that side of media and life — it's kind of cozy [working in the mainstream]. But I guess there's a side of the music that's not so cozy as well, which hopefully sets us apart from sounding like the Care Bears.

» EXPRESS: You've said the "The Midnight Organ Fight" was written after a difficult breakup; does the person who you wrote the songs about know this?
» HUTCHISON Yeah. I still talk with her. We still own a house together. She's totally aware of the whole thing, and she's the first person to hear the record outside the band. It's all there; she knows.

» EXPRESS: Did it bother her that you wrote a whole record about your breakup, or was she flattered?
» HUTCHISON I don't know about flattered [laughs]. I've never spoken about it at length [with her]. It's perhaps the best means I have to communicate. Maybe some things that she might want to know are there [on the album] already, so she hasn't just asked me. I don't really know.

» EXPRESS: I wanted to ask you about a quote: "The record still sounds like it was made by a Scottish band, in the lyrics and the chords we use." What's a Scottish chord?
» HUTCHISON I remember I read this article — I used to buy guitar magazine when I was 15 or 16, and the Scottish band Mogwai were talking about their favorite chords, and I picked two or three or them and they stuck with me. I can't give you the technical name for it; there's a folk basis to it as well. I don't know if it's major or minor, though; mine are usually major.

» EXPRESS: Perhaps a major diminished?
» HUTCHISON That might well be it! I use sustain chords as well — is that stuff "s-u-s" after the "E major sus" or something like that? Sustained? [A voice from the van shouts] Suspended! Oh, they just told me it's suspended, not sustained; I just knew the s-u-s. I like those as well. I was using the wrong word there. I've been well informed here by someone in the van who's more musical than myself.

» EXPRESS: So, you tended to look at the pictures in the guitar mags rather than read the tablature?
» HUTCHISON Yeah, absolutely. I'm not much of a reader, either, and I can't read music either. But the chord pictures, they were Mogwai's favorite chords and they put them into the little dot pictures. I mean, I am literate, I can read, but the pictures are definitely what I was looking at?

» EXPRESS: When you guys were making "The Midnight Organ Fight," did producer Peter Katis try to make you guys play ice hockey? After all, he's a member of The Zambonis, "North America's favorite all-hockey band."
» HUTCHISON No, he just went away and did that himself. I think it's kind of his therapy; I think he'd be a complete nightmare to work with if he weren't for his weekly ice hockey sessions where he goes and beats up 40-year-old men on the ice rink. I think he'd be frightening to play with.

Photo by David Gourley