Frightened Rabbit began in 2003 as a musical twinkle in the eye of Scott Hutchison, in the Scottish town of Selkirk. After outgrowing the project's solo limitations, Hutchison recruited his brother Grant on drums, Billy Kennedy on guitar and Andy Monaghan on bass to stretch the rabbit's legs. Then, after finding a home on Brighton indie label Fat Cat Records, the four-piece released debut album Sing The Greys in 2006. With a third record on the way next year, we caught up with Scott to hear more.

When we spoke, the group were in the middle of a tour supporting first Gomez and then Modest Mouse. Warming-up for another band presents a unique challenge for Scott, and one that he relishes.

"In some ways it can actually be more satisfying than your own shows, because if you're headlining then you've already won the crowd the minute you walk on," he said. "But with these shows, if you can turn it around in the space of 45 minutes there is almost a bigger sense of achievement."

The band will follow up 2008'sThe Midnight Organ Fight with third album The Winter Of Mixed Drinks in March. Scott said that the title alludes to a "descent into madness, losing your mind a little bit, and wandering into the wilderness". It is not necessarily about an alcoholic haze, but rather refers to the "sense of loneliness" which often strikes bands on long tours.

"We just wanted to get across a sensation of isolation. Loneliness is part of being on tour. It's not all fun, fabulous times and parties, not for us anyway," he said. "I'm not going to complain about it and I didn't want to write a record about being on tour or reference it any specific way. But I did want to translate the feelings that I had had over the past year into something more interesting. It's less about me, this record, than the last one was."

As Frightened Rabbit has been such a pet project for Scott, the band's first two albums were very much about documenting his personal experiences. However, The Winter Of Mixed Drinks is something new, as epitomised by the dream-like escapism of first single, Swim Until You Can't See Land. Scott said that he has already "covered" his personal life in past songs, and now the fans want to hear something new.  

"It's still about the same approach but changing the subject matter. Focusing on me in an autobiographical sense just does not work anymore. I've been working on the band in quite a solitary way for a long time. I still do all the writing and most of the music, but in the studio I tried to open it up and let other people get involved in the process so they feel like they have ownership over the songs. It also makes for an interesting record because if you only have one point of view being put forward, then it can tend to get a bit one dimensional. Hopefully, what's happened on this record is that letting people in has led to a few right and left turns that I didn't expect, which has been great."

Taking into account new voices has been made even more pressing by the addition of fifth member Gordon Skrene in October. Scott said that Skrene joined the band for a week in 2008 "just for the hell of it", and that sowed the seed for his permanent involvement.

"He wasn't involved in the making of the new record, but having made it, it's quite a layered record and there is a lot going on," said Scott. "So we felt that a four-piece couldn't quite do it justice live, and Gordon was the obvious choice. We've been proved right as he has fitted in amazingly. We're all chuffed."

Scott said that reception to the new single has been largely positive among fans. Mostly, though, the group have been pleasantly surprised at the amount of radio-play and attention it has received. Scott said that it is "difficult" to build such exposure, especially on smaller labels such as Fat Cat.

"We did The Culture Show on BBC Two, a big thing for us, but we got it because someone at the show liked our band. So you have to believe in the fact that if you're doing something good then it will eventually break out of the net," he explained. "That kind of growth also leads to a more solid foundation. We've met and opened for bands that have taken the same trajectory, Death Cab for Cutie and Biffy Clyro, they both just kept going and didn't stop. I think there's a lot to be said for that."

The Winter Of Mixed Drinks is released on March 1, preceded by second single, Nothing Like You, on February 22. The band then play the following dates:

4 March, York Duchess

5 March,  Manchester Club Academy

6 March,  Aldershot West End Centre

8 March,  Bristol Thekla

9 March,  Oxford Academy 2

10 March, London Koko

12 March,  Birmingham Academy 2

13 March,  Sheffield Leadmill 2

14 March,  Norwich Arts Centre