Despite making it to five albums, with the latest 40% released through Atlantic Records, Frightened Rabbit still feel understated and underappreciated, even within their home country which adores them so. Latest album Painting Of A Panic Attack follows Pedestrian Verse to form the band’s major label duo, with the preceding trio of albums being released via FatCat Records. Upon a first listen to the record, it was overwhelmingly grey, a monotonous record of unimaginative indie teetering on the edge of being downright boring. Thankfully, that opinion was complete nonsense, and with repeated listens (and evidently a lot more focus) the record was revealed to be the quintet’s most accomplished to date.

The album is still grey however, just not in a bland way, but in a sombre and emotive way which is captured by the atmosphere (and colour) of the artwork. Frontman Scott Hutchison’s vocals have always been endearing, and have evolved from the playfulness of Sing the Greys through the ingenuity of The Midnight Organ Fight to the maturity they possess now. The lyrical content here is largely self-reflective, as in previous records, with a prominent strand of alcohol-related material which is most evident in the poignant one-two of ‘I Wish I Was Sober’ and ‘Woke Up Hurting’.

Starting with ‘Death Dream’, both as the album’s opener and initial preceding single, this overarching negative tone is set as Hutchison reflects to the slow march of his bandmates’ instruments accompanied by some wonderfully poised brass. ‘Get Out’ is a jagged track which injects some energy amidst the tale of a love lost but not yet forgotten, and one of the record’s strongest numbers. The flowing narrative and contrast of ‘I Wish I Was Sober’ and ‘Woke Up Hurting’ is enthralling, with the latter track’s infectious chorus providing one of the album’s best moments, and comparable moment is the melody of ‘Break’ which will similarly linger in your head for days. These moments are reminiscent of the invigoration imparted by previous single and anthem ‘The Loneliness and the Scream’ or absolute classic ‘Square 9’. The general feel of the record however is the realms of ‘Floating In The Forth’ or ‘State Hospital’, solemn in a relatable way which makes the tracks instantly loveable and confirms the band’s songwriting credentials.

Whilst the majority of the songs on Painting Of A Panic Attack fall somewhere on the route to “beige indie” with their slow pace and lack of flourishes, the approach has been adopted throughout Frightened Rabbit’s career as they use measured soundscapes and lyrics to convey the appropriate amount of emotion. The closing pair of tracks buck this trend, as penultimate number ‘Lump Street’ progresses as a synth-heavy allegory before evolving into something with a little more vigor, and the endearing ‘Die Like A Rich Boy’ falls somewhere between ‘Poke’ and ‘Snake’ as acoustic guitar and vocal take centre stage for the closing act.

Having released a major label debut which ticked all the boxes which these things require, Frightened Rabbit have taken its successor as opportunity to switch that expensive new suit for something equally fashionable but considerably more comfortable. Undoubtedly this combination of talent and exposure (posters on Glasgow Subway!) will help propel this outfit from Selkirk to the world, and that result would be nothing less than the phenomenal quintet deserve.

Painting Of A Panic Attack is available from iTunes and Amazon.

Owl John stuns a packed crowd of devoted fans with a career-spanning show at Oslo in Hackney.

Following a busy schedule which included a tour of California and the release of debut self-titled album, Scott Hutchison of Frightened Rabbit is relaxed as he enters the stage. It’s immediately clear that this isn’t a usual gig, but instead Hutchison is at ease and happy to be playing solo. In a jovial mood, he chats his way through an unplanned but hit-laden set which delights the crowd from start to finish.

After kicking off with debut Owl John single ‘Hate Music’, Hutchison announces that the plan for the evening is to take joint responsibility in deciding what is played. Suggestions of songs are encouraged, and given special attention if they come with a drink. He giggles, “Of course I’ll play ‘The Wrestle’ for a whiskey.”

What follows is a run through much-loved tracks such as 'State Hospital', 'The Woodpile', 'Modern Leper' and 'Poke'.

Suddenly the queue at the bar is bigger than ever because we’re told that the price would be greater for ‘Snake’, the tongue in cheek fan favourite from Frightened Rabbit’s debut album. Notoriously hating the track, Hutchison says he’s going to have to be drunk to play it. It’s not long until his first Jägerbomb arrives from the crowd. An hour and many drinks later ‘Snake’ is played. Mission accomplished.

Playing for nearly two hours without a setlist, it’s hard to not feel stirred as the crowd shout their favourite Frightened Rabbit songs in hope. This is what musicians of Hutchison’s ilk should aspire to. The fact that his distinctively troubled voice and delicate use of a single electric guitar sound magnificent is essentially a bonus of what is a brilliantly entertaining show anyway.

The only drawback is when the familiarities between performer and audience leads to over-excitement, with some in the crowd incessantly shouting during songs. Hutchison, as cool as you like, reacts perfectly. Turning to them, he says that he originally sought to start a band for “depressed beardy guys, but then having been in the charts, it’s unavoidable that the lads come out.” He concludes, “Basically I’m telling you to shut up.” The crowd cheers then falls deadly silent as he fulfils the wish of an early Frightened Rabbit fan in playing ‘Square 9’.

Hutchison cherry-picks some Owl John tracks such as ‘A Good Reason To Grow Old’ and ‘Los Angeles Be Kind’, underlining the strength of his debut release as they fit seamlessly with his more established back catalogue.

As a venue Oslo is massively welcoming; with acoustics perfectly complimenting Hutchison’s distinct voice. The highlight of the performance is ‘Old Old Fashioned’ which is a textbook sing-along for the animated crowd, who, having acted as backing singers throughout the set, could finally take their turn in sharing lead vocals.

As Hutchison staggers off the stage (he had been convinced to play Snake after all), and the crowd disperses, there is not a person leaving who’d not felt a pang of sentiment at one of Hutchison’s beautifully morose tracks. The performance was an absolute delight, and other artists should take heed. It’s a brave move to break down that barrier at the end of the stage, especially with an album to flog, but Scott Hutchison is Owl John because he needed to go back to his roots and clear his head away from Frightened Rabbit. If he has to endure several free drinks along the way then so be it.