The Midnight Organ Fight

This hit me like a train. I didn’t know the band, and given the 2008 indie/folk/rock label, I braced for mediocrity. Instead, I got one of the most honest, beautiful, devastating albums I’ve heard in a long time. From the first listen, it stood out. Raw and direct but musically rich, full of conviction. And then, each repeat listen pulled me deeper. The heart of the album is Scott Hutchison's voice. Both literal and emotional. His lyrics are blunt, confessional, and occasionally profane, but never gratuitous. Lines like “It takes more than fucking someone you don’t know to keep warm” or “I think I’ll save suicide for another year” aren’t just provocative, they reach through the song and grab you by the throat. The run of Keep Yourself Warm, Extrasupervery, and Poke is jaw-droppingly good. This album will stay in my life for a long time. I’ve already introduced it to my wife, and she was just as floored as I was. It’s that kind of record: once you hear it, you want someone else to hear it too.

One of my favorite albums of all time! This was almost my entry, so thank you to the beautiful person who added it. Floating in the Forth never fails to make me cry.

Frightened Rabbit were already on my shortlist to include, so I was delighted to see this album on the users list this morning. Personally, I prefer Pedestrian Verse given its more polished sound, but The Midnight Organ Fight undoubtedly hits harder and arguable their more important album. It’s a tough listen these days, but such an important one. Given what happened to Scott, I honestly can’t think of a band with a more poignant and heartbreaking song than Floating in the Forth. It hits even harder for me, having friends and family who’ve sadly gone down the same tragic path. That’s why this gets the full 5 stars from me — not just for the music, but for what it represents. And if anyone reading this is going through something similar to what Scott faced, please: reach out to your friends, your family — anyone. You are loved more than you can possibly imagine.

Good indie rock album with folky influences. Lots of songs with urgency and a drive. You can find this in the music and also in the quite direct lyircs ("It takes more than fucking someone (you don't know) to keep warm").

An emotionally wrought Scottish alt-rock blinder, like Biffy Clyro post-divorce. The melodies on this are marvellous as it kicks off with the anthemic The Modern Leper and remains catchy throughout with tracks like Old Old Fashioned. The album also shines in more tender moments like The Twist and the heartbreaking ode to intimacy Keep Yourself Warm, and closes out with the devastating Floating in the Forth. A truly special record that hits hard in a variety of ways with every listen

I liked this quite a bit… some songs (like Fast Blood) stood out as 5s on the first listen. I suspect this could grow on me over time…

Cool rock band that reminders me a bit of a mix of Mumford and Sons, Beats Den and Death Cab

I like this a lot.

Same reaction one had after seeing them at a festival a few years ago: WTF’s up with the name? And wait these cats (er, bunnies) are good. The edgy and uber-earnest, emo-inflected intensity and drive are largely effective, a decent extension and freshening of indie rock tropes and templates (so, right in the sweet spot of one’s musical ancestry). The slight edge of desperation in the vocals (the straining, the wavering, the reaching) reads as sincere and vulnerable and authentic – indeed, it’s what authenticity and vulnerability and sincerity have always sounded like to young people. The polish and emotional weight and overall likability make this a band to learn a bit more about (back catalog) and keep an eye out for. They definitely seem to have the right fans, too, which is a plus.

Every time I listen to Frightened Rabbit I think I need to listen to more Frightened Rabbit.

Indie rock, indie folk. Ni fu ni fa.

A comfortable background album with some swears.

A cool indie folk style album. At first I thought the singer was a bit lackluster but as the album continued his unfiltered rawness gives the album its own style and worked well with the rock folk instrumentals. Overall it’s a good listen and flows nicely. It’s nothing ground breaking but as a indie folk album it’s pretty good. 6.6/10

Figured this would be straight singer-songwriter all the way through, so it was nice when the full-band instrumentation kicked in. Had some quibbles with the banal songwriting and sometimes bland arrangements, but it was a decent listen and something new I hadn’t heard before.

I liked this pretty well, though it put me much in mind of that Tall Dwarfs line I've quoted before about how "Leonard Cohen used to bend his words this way... to try and make a song out of a speech." Musically it was effective but not terribly inspired. I appreciate that the vocals actually sounded Scottish. Another sad tale as far as the founder and lead is concerned.

Another meh one

Rating: 6/10

incredibly mid

“While indie rock suffers no shortage of dramatic, orchestral pop..” Ok I’m out

Great Indie album, pleasant on the ears but lyrically dark. Fave Songs: I Feel Better, Good Arms vs. Bad Arms, The Modern Leper, Fast Blood

I think I enjoyed this but I honestly can't remember!

It is intriguing and full of lyrical guile. I enjoyed some of the grind of the album as well.

Really nice

It's OK. Not my sort of thing really, but it's OK.

Guessing this will be indie rock? Oh god it's THIS sort of indie. Stomp clap hey ho lol. Most of the songs had that big buildup/finish vibe to them that lasted at least half the song. That annoyed me. 2/5.

Everything wrong with 2008 in one album.