I was an admirer of this band’s debut single when it was first released back in 1996, but their subsequent releases didn’t really float my boat, as I’ve never been a big fan of LPs made up of spoken‑word “songs”. However, I did become a fan of both members’ solo material – initially with Malcolm Middleton’s brilliant second LP Into the Woods from 2005, and then in 2015 I belatedly got into Aidan Moffat + The Best Of’s How to Get to Heaven from Scotland from 2009 after discovering his album from that year with Bill Wells. In the following year he released the essential Hogmanay LP Where You’re Meant to Be, and on these releases Mr Moffat is much more of a singer than my impression of him from early Arab Strap.
Since 2019 they’ve reformed as Arab Strap, and tracks from their previous two LPs have featured on my Uneasy Listening and Top Pop year‑end playlists. This new LP is Arab Strap 2.0 at their most poptastic and forthright. There’s not much subtlety, but it’s an absolute blast. The lyricism is as brilliant as ever and possibly even more amusing, such as: “I was so relieved by your answer I let the swearing slide”.
Then on Fighting For You they are particularly topical:
“From the business class lounge, they’re fighting for you
From the deck of a yacht, they’re fighting for you
Warming up by the AGA, they’re fighting for you
By a poolside in Spain, they’re fighting for you
From a countryside bolthole, fighting for you
From a penthouse in Mayfair, fighting for you
From a back of a stretch, they’re fighting for you
From a pad in Dubai, they’re fighting for you”
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