Painting Of A Panic Attack

Rating

Album: Painting Of A Panic Attack (180 Gram Vinyl)
#	Song Title		Time
1)	Death Dream	More Info...
2)	Get Out	More Info...
3)	I Wish I Was Sober	More Info...
4)	Woke Up Hurting	More Info...
5)	Little Drum	More Info...
6)	Still Want to Be Here	More Info...
7)	An Otherwise Disappointing Life	More Info...
8)	Break	More Info...
9)	Blood Under the Bridge	More Info...
10)	400 Bones	More Info...
11)	Lump Street	More Info...
12)	Die Like a Rich Boy	More Info...

Album: Painting Of A Panic Attack (180 Gram Vinyl)
#	Song Title		Time
1)	Death Dream	More Info...
2)	Get Out	More Info...
3)	I Wish I Was Sober	More Info...
4)	Woke Up Hurting	More Info...
5)	Little Drum	More Info...
6)	Still Want to Be Here	More Info...
7)	An Otherwise Disappointing Life	More Info...
8)	Break	More Info...
9)	Blood Under the Bridge	More Info...
10)	400 Bones	More Info...
11)	Lump Street	More Info...
12)	Die Like a Rich Boy	More Info...

Performer Notes

The fifth studio long player and second major-label release from the petrified Scottish mammals, Painting of a Panic Attack offers up another swoon-inducing, bloody-sleeved collection of erudite indie rock anthems that distill angst, both existential and situational, into fist-pumping crowd-pleasers. Produced with measured aplomb by the National's Aaron Dessner, the 12-track set sees frontman Scott Hutchison returning full-time to the fold after his 2014 solo outing under the Owl John moniker. Born out of homesickness for his bandmates and the old country -- Hutchison spent much of his post-Owl John existence on an extensive Los Angeles staycation. Painting of a Panic Attack treads familiar thematic ground for the group -- loss, dislocation, heartache, regret, etc. -- but between Hutchison's always compelling prose and Dessner's punchy production work, the overall effect is beguiling rather than staid. The album is front-loaded, to say the least, with early standouts like "Get Out," "Death Dream," "Woke Up Hurting," and "I Wish I Was Sober," which are as hook-driven as they are pained, with the banging "Get Out" packing the most firepower -- think the Killers with some humility or Arcade Fire sans righteousness. Hutchison really only deals with the City of Angels directly on two songs: the plaintive "Still Want to Be Here" and the brooding "Lump Street," but the notion that a stranger in a strange land can be both inspired and driven to tears is a familiar one for anybody who has ever sought change through relocation. Painting of a Panic Attack, like previous albums, can get a bit mired in wistful, midtempo soul searching, but it's by far the most immediate and inclusive collection of songs that the band has laid to tape to date. ~ James Christopher Monger

Professional Reviews

Paste (magazine) - "[A] triumph for a veteran band and represents one of their best efforts to date....[I]t's clear that the Scottish band is using more instruments to their advantage, not weighing down their trademark morbid lyrics with extra baggage."

Clash (magazine) - "[E]xceptional....[This] is a band renewed, a group of musicians exploring fresh new ground while remaining true to the colours and hues that first defined them."