What happens when the routine, the lights, the sing-alongs all become too much for the pop artist? When Glasgow musician Scott Hutchison of Frightened Rabbit spent the last two songs of a show in Ireland singing in the fetal position, it became the priority of his label to take care of their artist. That’s precisely what Atlantic Records did when they sent Hutchison to the Isle of Mull to write and record the music of Owl John.

Free to explore his own musical impulses without the confines of expectation, without the preconceived notions that a band name implies, Hutchison wrote his debut solo album by mixing elements of the anthemic song-writing he’s known for with a sprawling, somber maturity. This vulnerable yet somehow confident album kicks off with a rising start, embellishing a powerful song like Cold Creeps – whose distant organs and tribal drums provoke a thoughtful reflection at the sunset of a long day – with the sort of vocal effects one might find on an Animal Collective track. The mood is both triumphant and pensive, as if asking the audience to take part in an experience that might feel familiar but inevitably explores entirely new ground for this artist.

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