It's tough writing these things in retrospect. Really fucking tough. Because at first, life gets in the way and you think, "Oh, I'll get to that review sometime down the line." That's what happened with me writing about Frightened Rabbit, and it fucking sucks that I've finally been jolted into this in the wake of lead singer Scott Hutchison's death. The Scotsman truly was an angel on Earth, and it reflected in his music. Scouring around their songs online and then reading the comments about the lives he touched, all before people knew he died... and then reconciling them with his lyrics makes things all the more harder. Because the Recorded Songs EP does feel like his will and final testimonial to be good to and love each other. More so, it's like he's scrawling his last goodbye without us realizing what's to come.

It's no secret he's battled his demons with depression and we can all hope he finds what he was looking for all along. And oddly enough, Recorded Songs feels like a man who wants to do that, also urging us to do the same and cherish the special moments while we can. If you're not familiar with Frightened Rabbit, they're a shimmery gem of an indie rock act and the band that got me into one of my favorites -- We Were Promised Jetpacks. And these 3 songs here reflect every ounce of energy, warmth, charisma and yes, darkness, that lingered in Hutchison's soul. From the folky acoustic with Julien Baker -- "How It Gets In" -- to the heartbreaking and wispy "Rained On" -- Hutchison talks about the power of love, to wishing the bad away come New Year's Day respectively. Most of all, "Roadless" ... I can't help but think about his last days. It's about searching for someone missing, all while that person has left everything and everyone, embarking on a journey to find peace.

Well, Scott, you've an army missing you right now and we all hope you have finally found that peace in death that you couldn't in life. I lost my uncle last week and cremated him only to come home and find out you were gone. You truly were an artistic genius that's gone too soon but your music will live on, and rest assured, an album like Recorded Songs will save lives. As will everything you made that came before.