Frightened Rabbit’s Scott Hutchison Dead at 36

Frontman of Scottish indie band Frightened Rabbit, Scott Hutchison, has died, the BBC reports. Hutchison’s family reported him missing on Wednesday to Scottish police after he never returned to his hotel in South Queensferry, Scotland. His body was found at Port Edgar at around 8:30 p.m the next night. On friday morning, the police confirmed the body as Hutchison. The First Minister for Scotland is among the many to have paidtribute.

His family said they were “utterly devastated with the tragic loss of our beloved Scott,” the BBC reports. The surviving members of the band wrote in a statement, “There are no words to describe the overwhelming sadness and pain that comes with the death of our beloved Scott but to know he is no longer suffering brings us some comfort.”

On May 9th, Frightened Rabbit’s accounts on social media posted a message asking for fans to tell the police if they had any information about Hutchison’s whereabouts. “We are worried about Scott, who has been missing for a little while now,” it said. “He may be in a fragile state and may not be making the best decisions for himself right now.”

Hutchison had tweeted from his Owl John Twitter account the previous night, “Be so good to everyone you love. It’s not a given. I’m so annoyed that it’s not. I didn’t live by that standard and it kills me. Please, hug your loved ones. I’m away now. Thanks.”

On a song on Frightened Rabbit’s 2008 album The Midnight Organ Fight,“Floating in the Forth,” Hutchinson’s lyrics included him imagining dying in Scotland’s River Forth, sayonh, “Am I ready to leap? / Is there peace beneath / The roar of the Forth Road Bridge?” and “I think I’ll save suicide for another year.” Hutchison’s body was found on the banks of the River Forth, near the Forth Road Bridge.

The Mirror shared a statement released by Hutchison’s family via Police Scotland that reads:

As a family, we are utterly devastated with the tragic loss of our beloved Scott. Despite his disappearance, and the recent concerns over his mental health, we had all remained positive and hopeful that he would walk back through the door, having taken some time away to compose himself. Scott, like many artists, wore his heart on his sleeve and that was evident in the lyrics of his music and the content of many of his social media posts. He was passionate, articulate and charismatic, as well as being one of the funniest and kindest people we knew. Friends and family would all agree that he had a brilliant sense of humour and was a great person to be around.

In addition to his musical success, Scott was a wonderful son, brother, uncle and friend. Despite whatever else was going on in his life he always had time for those he cared for. Depression is a horrendous illness that does not give you any alert or indication as to when it will take hold of you. Scott battled bravely with his own issues for many years and we are immensely proud of him for being so open with his struggles. His willingness to discuss these matters in the public domain undoubtedly raised awareness of mental health issues and gave others confidence and belief to discuss their own issues.

To all of those who have come forward with such kind messages of support over the past couple of days, we wish to express our most sincerest of thanks. We have been overwhelmed by the love that has been conveyed, not only to Scott, but to our family. It means the world to us. We also want to thank Police Scotland and the Dakota Hotel for all of their assistance since Wednesday. We now ask that our privacy be respected so that we may come to terms with our loss.

 

Beach Slang to release new album as Quiet Slang

Beach Slang under the name Quiet Slang, their chamber pop version of the band, are releasing an album set to be out later this month though Polyvinyl.

The album, called Everything Matters But No One Is Listening is the band re-contextualizing 10 Beach Slang “covers,” and it takes away its most distinctive features. The album provides a more subtle version of the songs by scaling back on their traditional instruments and towards the likes of the piano and cello.

Everything Matters But No One Is Listening is the debut from Quiet Slang and is set to be out May 18th. Pre-order it from Polyvinyl here and check out the album’s tracklist, along with the video for “Dirty Cigarettes” and Quiet Slang’s upcoming tour dates below.

Everything Matters But No One Is Listening tracklist:

01. Bad Art & Weirdo Ideas
02. Noisy Heaven
03. Future Mixtape For The Art Kids
04. Filthy Luck
05. Dirty Cigarettes
06. Too Late To Die Young
07. Spin The Dial
08. Young Hearts
09. Throwaways
10. Warpaint

Quiet Slang tour dates

05.16.18 – Brooklyn, NY – Rough Trade
05.17.18 – Allston, MA – Great Scott
05.18.18 – Philadelphia, PA – Underground Arts
05.19.18 – Washington, DC – Rock & Roll Hotel
06.11.18 – Toronto, ON – Drake Hotel
06.12.18 – Cleveland, OH – Beachland Tavern
06.14.18 – Milwaukee, WI – The Back Room at Colectivo Coffee
06.15.18 – Minneapolis, MN – 7th Street Entry
06.16.18 – Chicago, IL – Schubas Tavern
06.18.18 – Denver, CO – Globe Hall
06.21.18 – Seattle, WA – Barboza
06.22.18 – Vancouver, BC – Biltmore Cabaret
06.23.18 – Portland, OR – Bunk Bar
06.25.18 – San Francisco, CA – Café Du Nord
06.26.18 – Los Angeles, CA – The Moroccan Lounge
06.27.18 – Santa Ana, CA – Constellation Room
06.29.18 – San Diego, CA – Soda Bar
06.30.18 – Phoenix, AZ – Valley Bar
07.02.18 – Austin, TX – Barracuda
07.03.18 – Dallas, TX – Club Dada
07.05.18 – Nashville, TN – The High Watt
07.06.18 – Atlanta, GA – The Earl
07.07.18 – Carrboro, NC – Cat’s Cradle Back Room
07.08.18 – Richmond, VA – Chilton House

Big Thief announce tour

Big Thief have announced a tour for their album Capacity which came out last year and will follow their appearances at festivals like Sasquatch this summer. The tour will continue throughout the fall across North America. Find their full itinerary on their website.

Jungle share 2 new songs and videos

the UK based band, Jungle, have returned with two new songs and the accompanying music videos. “Happy Man” and “House in LA” are singles off of Jungle’s upcoming sophomore album. Watch the videos below. The songs will be officially released on June 22nd via XL Recordings as a 12″ double-A-side vinyl single.

Jungle, led by Josh Lloyd-Watson and Tom McFarland, stated that the LP is like “a post-apocalyptic radio station playing break up songs,” according to a press release.

Touré Kunda announce first album in 10 years

Senegalese music legends Touré Kunda are returning with their first album in a decade, called Lambi Golo, which will be out May 25th via Shellshock.

The LP will see Touré Kunda returning to their roots, aka the Casamance region of Senegal. The songs “have been cultivated over many years and recorded in ‘village studio’ conditions to preserve the essence of life and evoke the loss of values for confused generations.” The album is being characterized as “a musical thiéboudienne that is both energetic and tender…a vibrant mix of m’balax, casamancais rhythms, funk, pop rock, and reggae and an open invitation to dance, to dream, and to hope.”

Listen to a preview of Lambi Golo below before pre-ordering it in a different language and find the cover art above and full tracklisting below.

Lambi Golo tracklisting:

01. Demaro ft. Manu Dibango
02. Oustache
03. Emma Salsa ft. Carlos Santana
04. Malang
05. Lambi Golo
06. Sene Bayo
07. Fatou Yow
08. Mister Farmer ft. Kiddus I
09. Ka Badiyassi
10. Soif de Liberte ft. Lokua Kanza
11. Deuk N Do
12. Sotolal

The Melodic Tree’s Weekly Playlist

1. This is America – Childish Gambino

2. On a Bus – Baseball Gregg

3. Your Letter – Paul Cherry

4. Taxi Boy – RALPH TV

5. My Jinji – Sunset Rollercoaster

6. Keep Kool – Winona Forever

7. Majorca – Static Animal

8. In the Yard – Jons

9. Thoughts of You – Max Shrager

10. Flower Glass – Hand Habits

11. Ultimate Painting – Ultimate Painting

12. Mimi Pretend – Ulrika Spacek

13. Nice and Quiet – Bedouine

14. Don’t Know What’s Normal – Shintaro Sakamoto

15. Wire – Omni

16. Sink into the Floor – Feng Suave

17. Ugotme – Omar Apollo

18. Krystal – BOYO

19. Sweet Bird – Young Hunting

20. Remember? – Jawncarlo

Childish Gambino shares new song “This is America”

Childish Gambino has released a new song, “This is America” with an adjoining music video which can be watched below below. The political video, directed by Hiro Murai, shows Glover dancing while chaos unfolds. It is Donald Glover’s first release since 2016’s full-length “Awaken, My Love!.”

Weeed to release album via Important Records

Bainbridge Island, Washington-based psych rock band, Weeed, are coming out with a new album called This and is set to be out June 1st via Important Records The album is a described as “outgrowth” from their previous release, as described by the band, and the label described it as containing “an expansive musical vision and an astonishingly mature sound…[full of] tight syncopations and pulsing polyrhythms.”

You can preorder the LP’s vinyl and cassette at Important Records and listen to the previous release, META, below.

This tracklisting:

01. Haze II
02. Our Song
03. Wave
04. This

Blood Orphans, Julius Smack, Wizard Apprentice, Pools at the Hobbit Hole in photos

Trevor Powers returns with new song “Playwright”

Trevor Powers announced the end of Youth Lagoon after three albums, however, he has returned under his own name. Watch the video for his new single “Playwright,” out via his label Baby Halo.

Powers also shared a handwritten note along with the new music. “i ended youth lagoon because it became a mental dungeon, & i was its captive. my intention was never to keep it going—only to serve as a nod to the blooming years.” Read the note below.