Sunday Music: “Poke” by Frightened Rabbit

July 14, 2019

The Midnight Organ Fight just turned 10. We lost Scott Hutchison a year ago. The recreation of the album by fans and friends, appropriately titled Tiny Changes: A Celebration of The Midnight Organ Fight, is out now. If unfamiliar, this record may very well be the quintessential indie “breakup” album. Between Hutchison’s Scottish accent, the jangly folk-rock aesthetic, and the lyrics (seriously, this is a lyrical masterpiece), the whole record is beautifully haunting, soul-wrenching, and strangely uplifting.

Of all the songs, the one I return to time and time again is “Poke” (mentioned here before). It’s after the relationship, looking back on its progression. The last verse blends the concepts of memories and photos. There’s how we remember and what we reflect back on. There’s what we tell ourselves and how we explain it to others. There’s why others couldn’t make sense of it if they tried, because it’s all, always, too personal.

Well we can change our partners

This is a progressive dance but

Remember it was me who dragged you up to the sweaty floor

Well this has been a reel

I’ve got shin-splints and a stitch from we

But like a drunken night it’s the best bits that are coloured in

You should look through some old photos

I adored you in every one of those

If someone took a picture of us now they’d need to be told

That we had ever clung and tied

A navy knot with arms at night

I’d say she was his sister but she doesn’t have his nose

And now we’re unrelated and rid of all the shit we hated

But I hate when I feel like this

And I never hated you

Spend some time with the song, the album, and the new album. It’s aging well. We lost a great voice in Hutchison and the work deserves to continue to be celebrated.