Interview: Frightened Rabbit on Mumford & Sons, The National, Scotland and success

REPORTER ANDREW TRENDELL talks to Frightened Rabbit frontman Scott Hutchison about major label success, Scottish independence and comparisons with The National and Mumford and Sons.

“Cults can be quite big,” muses Scott Hutchison, considering Frightened Rabbit’s international following. “Does Scientology count?”

Beyond Tom Cruise and his contentious beliefs, Hutchison finds himself in good company as a ‘cult band’.

“I’m quite happy to be called that, to be honest,” he admits. “You’ve got bands like Deathcab for Cutie who were a cult band well into selling over a million records. It’s all about perception rather than how many albums or tickets you shift. I kind of feel like we’re someone’s secret.”

For over six years and three critically-acclaimed albums, Frightened Rabbit have been tirelessly working on building a dedicated fan base around the world with their crushingly emotive, marvellously honest and unmistakably Scottish approach to alt-folk. They can be dark, they can be poetic, they can be brash, and they can be very, very loud.

Shortly after the release of their last record, ‘The Winter of Mixed Drinks’, the band left their beloved independent label home of Fat Cat and joined the major leagues by penning a deal with Atlantic.

Now, with new material that sounds utterly game-changing and the world finally theirs for the taking, 2013 could be the year the Rabbit. They may not be Scotland’s favourite secret for much longer.