Frightened Rabbit Talk Songwriting & New EP, 'State Hospital'

Scottish indie rockers Frightened Rabbit are on an 11-stop U.S. tour supporting their new EP, State Hospital, and during their recent stop in New York City the quintet sat down with Fuse to discuss their songwriting process, U.S. fans and new EP. Here are some highlights...

On Releasing the New EP: "We wanted to be generous with what we'd done," singer/guitarist Scott Hutchison says of dropping the five-song EP."We also didn't want anyone to think we were being lazy because we spent a few years working on the [next full-length] record. We just wanted to remind people we exist. We spent 18 months writing it. We had a lot of songs, too many songs. We didn't want to relegate them to B-Side status."

On Hutchison's Lyrics:  "A few songs on the EP are trying to tell stories instead of relying on my own personal torments and anxieties," he says. "There's a darkness on the EP that felt out of touch on the full album."

On the Band's Newly Inclusive Songwriting Process:  "The way we've been writing songs has changed a lot," guitarist Andy Monaghan says. "It's more of a band process now." "My own process was becoming a bit more creatively stagnant," adds Hutchison. "Rather than forcing it, this was a much more organic way to change our music. It's so much better for it. I don't think I could do it the way we used to."

For more, including the band's take on "tube blowers," check out the full interview above.