5 of 25: Frightened Rabbit - Midnight Organ Fight

Glasgow, Scotland's Frightened Rabbit are insecure. And they think about sex. Like, a lot (see: album title). Midnight Organ Fight puts those insecurities on display, and while a number of their songs would fall squarely in the "emo" genre based on lyrics, they somehow come off less whiny and much more enjoyable because of their pop/rock leanings. Take opener "The Modern Leper," which focuses on the well-known theme of girl-going-back-to-guy-even-though-she-knows-he's-no-good. While lines like "Is that you, in front of me... coming back for even more of exactly the same?" might sound trite and tired coming from The Starting Line or Dashboard Confessional, you actually feel connected to the emotion of the song's voice... guilty and sickened at the ability to bring this girl down with him, but thankful that she's there.

And so you can listen to this album in two ways: for the stories or for the music. One way is more depressing than the other, but both offer great experiences. Throughout Midnight Organ Fight, what really jumps out is the sonic fullness: this three-piece band just SOUNDS big. Although they'll likely never play in an arena, their sound is befitting of one. The downbeat is a friend of Frightened Rabbit, both musically and thematically, which isn't suprising. "The Twist" is sure to be an early favorite for anyone on a first listen. Surprisingly, it isn't about the popular dance; rather, "You twist and whisper the wrong name. I don't care, and nor do my ears... I need human heat. Let's pretend I'm attractive... it's the night, I can be who you like, and I'll quietly leave before it gets light." Damn. Fall Out Boy WISHES they could reach that kind of level of self-loathing! And it only builds... listening to "Keep Yourself Warm" could potentially send someone entrenched in the hook-up culture of one-night stands and drunken trysts into a shame spiral (assuming they weren't there already); "You won't find love in a hole. It takes more than fucking someone to keep yourself warm." But if you're not paying attention to the words, you'd never know how depressing that song should be. And that might be Frightened Rabbit's greatest trick. Although each song is distinctly depressing in some way (with maybe a sliver of light thrown in for good measure), they generally have one thing in common: straightforward, pulsating rhythms. Naturally... those are helpful when... well, nevermind. It should be pretty obvious by now.