As part of the forthcoming Frightened Rabbit’s covers album Tiny Changes: A Celebration Of The Midnight Organ Fight, Manchester Orchestra, and Sarah Silverman & Katie Harkin have released covers of the Scottish band’s “My Backwards Walk.”
The first cover is from Sleater-Kinney touring member Harkin, with the help of comedian and actress Silverman. Silverman was a good friend of Frightened Rabbit’s frontman Scott Hutchison, who passed away in 2018 after the band went on a 10-year anniversary tour for the album. The duo’s cover is slow, filled with synths. and puts the melancholic and nostalgic lyrics of the song at the forefront. The duo sing, “I’m working on erasing you / Just don’t have the proper tools / I get hammered, forget that you exist / There’s no way I’m forgetting this.”
Similarly, The Atlanta-based indie-rock band Manchester Orchestra focus on the poignant lyrics, but instead give the song a fuller, more cinematic sound. The song opens with frontman Andy Hull softly singing as the backing music builds to the climactic breakdown of the track.
To celebrate the 10 year anniversary/birthday of The Midnight Organ Fight we wanted to avoid the usual approach of just repressing the vinyl or re-releasing the same record with different artwork or putting out demos that were never meant to be heard by anyone other than the band and maybe our parents. We came up with the idea of asking some pals to record their own interpretations of the songs on the album. It felt like a good way to celebrate everyone who had been a part of the last ten years of the band and we didn’t have to do any work ourselves! Every single person on Tiny Changes has been a part of our lives and Frightened Rabbit in a special way over the last ten years. We’ve shared studios, vans, bars, dressing rooms and probably even underwear with some of these people and that’s why this record is so special to us.
Scott was a vital part of bringing this album together and it’s something he was very excited about and worked hard to bring to life. He listened to and approved every track on there with us and he had already started preparing the artwork which you’ll see on there (if you buy it). This is a celebration of a record that connected thousands of people to Scott and connected thousands of people to each other and ten years on it is still managing to do it. Scott would probably have put in some joke here about when the album hits puberty and starts rebelling by smoking weed and getting things pierced. We’re not that funny so instead let’s just raise a glass, blow out the candles and make a wish.
Prior to the release of these “My Backwards Walk” covers, indie singer-songwriter Julien Baker and Scottish rockers Biffy Clyro released covers of “Modern Leper,” The Midnight Organ Fight’s opening track.
The compilation album arrives July 12th via Canvasback Music/Atlantic and will also feature covers by The National’s Aaron Dessner, CHVRCHES’ Lauren Mayberry, Josh Ritter, Death Cab for Cuties’ Benjamin Gibbard, The Hold Steady’s Craig Finn and many more. The album will not only commemorate the 10-year anniversary of Frightened Rabbit’s album, but also serve as a memoriam to Hutchison, who had helped envision the covers album before his death.
Accompanying the release of the album, Rough Trade will hold an event hosted by Talkhouse’s Josh Modell. The event will feature Finn and Grammy Award-winning producer Peter Katis. Katis was the producer for Frightened Rabbit’s original The Midnight Organ Fight.
The Fat Angel Sings 