Arab Strap: Classic Or Dud?

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Kind of encouraged by Josh, I bought an Arab Strap album and I'm not sure what to make of them. Any thoughts, readers?

Tom, Saturday, 23 December 2000 01:00 (twenty-three years ago) link

I had one of their albums, which I bought because I didn't mind the song Moffatt did on that Mogwai album. It made me want to put my head in a gas stove, and not in a good way. It was the least fun, most turgid, album I'd heard since Leonard Cohen's Songs from a Room. It reminded me of watching mucous hang precariously from the nose of someone who's ill at the table next to you for such an infernally long time that you actually begin to root for it to fall into their oatmeal. I'd like to give it another listen, but I lost it.

Otis Wheeler, Saturday, 23 December 2000 01:00 (twenty-three years ago) link

As I recall, Mr. Ewing, you came to me one dark night and ASKED which Arab Strap songs you should try. I instigated nothing. ;)

Josh, Saturday, 23 December 2000 01:00 (twenty-three years ago) link

CLASSIC! without a doubt, the strap rool, they were far and away my fave band at atp (not that that's saying too much), although being pissed and maudlin is definately the best time to listen to them, like when you've been drinking on an autumn saturday afternoon and you get home to an empty house and it's getting dark and it's after final score and there's nothing but mindless drivel on the telly, so you mute the telly and put the strap on and "it was the biggest cock you've ever seen" (officially the best first line on an album ever) comes drifting out of the speakers, classic.

carsmilesteve, Sunday, 24 December 2000 01:00 (twenty-three years ago) link

To be blunt, I thought they were bollocks. Not THE bollocks, just bollocks.

DG, Wednesday, 3 January 2001 01:00 (twenty-three years ago) link

two weeks pass...
arab strap - best fucking band on the planet!

sisoje, Tuesday, 23 January 2001 01:00 (twenty-three years ago) link

Arab Strap...Brilliant, muscular, and vibrant in concert [as proved by 'Mad For Sadness'], edgy and dry as hell in the studio. Although 'Hello Daylight' from 'Elephant Shoe' has one of the best guitar hooks running through it that I've ever heard.

Dave Moore, Friday, 2 February 2001 01:00 (twenty-three years ago) link

three months pass...
This seems an interesting thread to revive cause Arab Strap touch on some stuff we've talked about recently, about 'realism' in pop. AS are meant to be realistic cause they talk (a lot) about the grubby situational details of modern relationships, the drinking and the groping and the cheating. Does this give them a kind of artistic superiority - as I think they've claimed in interviews - over people who sanitise or idealise such stuff? Or does it just make them bores? All the stuff that people apparently used to criticise the Wedding Present for (cf Nick's conversational songs thread), Arab Strap have in spades, surely....

Tom, Wednesday, 30 May 2001 00:00 (twenty-three years ago) link

they have gone with a strong new order influence on the new single turbulence.

looking forward to the forthcoming New Order album - late august.

DJ Martian, Wednesday, 30 May 2001 00:00 (twenty-three years ago) link

I find that "gritty realists" tend to be full of shit compared to the gritty mundanity of even really shitty conditions of life. Just another form of escapism.

Not that there's anything wrong with that...

Sterling Clover, Wednesday, 30 May 2001 00:00 (twenty-three years ago) link

"Gritty mundanity", I like that a lot. Very spot-on.

Patrick, Wednesday, 30 May 2001 00:00 (twenty-three years ago) link

hmm, classic (sort of)

the first big weekend (it was called that wasn't it?) seemed ace when it came out, but looking back now it feels a bit...irvine welsh (a bad thing)

2nd album, philaphobia is my favourite, although the material from this was much better live, where they unleashed a lot more mogwai- eauq noise that balanced things out a lot more.

the thing with an album like philaphobia is, after you've got over the initial stage of playing an album loads, its not the kind of album you really want to come back to

for me this seems to have affected all their subsequent releases, i'd heard philaphobia enough, i didn't really want to hear it anymore, so i didn't want to hear subsequent albums which would be just the same.

they seem to fit into a category of band (high llamas, mogwai, stereolab, tindersticks) who will just go on making 'not bad' albums, that if you buy, its kind of, well, out of duty.

i like the grubbyness of arab strap, but there's only so much i can take of it. it seems too rooted in specifics (maybe too grim? too personal?) rather than the grubbyness of early fall, which is abstract, almost geographic/social grubbyness...

gareth, Thursday, 31 May 2001 00:00 (twenty-three years ago) link

ten years pass...

Ahh, the Girls of Summer EP.

djh, Thursday, 2 June 2011 17:38 (thirteen years ago) link

finest moment

nultybutnice (whatever), Friday, 3 June 2011 08:27 (thirteen years ago) link

http://soundcloud.com/humandontbeangry/hdba_live-at-brudenell-social

The live recording of Malcolm's new solo project is really doing it for me at the moment...

Night Nurse with Wound (Jack Battery-Pack), Friday, 3 June 2011 10:56 (thirteen years ago) link

Really enjoying Aidan's new album (w/ Bill Wells).

reverse the jelly baby of the neutron flow (onimo), Saturday, 4 June 2011 09:41 (thirteen years ago) link

that live MM thing is kinda fucking unbelievable!! thanks for that

it's amazing isn't it..... i hope he records a full album of that stuff...

Night Nurse with Wound (Jack Battery-Pack), Saturday, 4 June 2011 12:46 (thirteen years ago) link

Really enjoying Aidan's new album (w/ Bill Wells).

Not sure I've heard a better song this year than "The Copper Top."

Simon H. Shit (Simon H.), Saturday, 4 June 2011 13:34 (thirteen years ago) link

two months pass...

Really enjoying Aidan's new album (w/ Bill Wells).

― reverse the jelly baby of the neutron flow (onimo), Saturday, June 4, 2011 9:41 AM (2 months ago) Bookmark

Pizzataco Five (admrl), Thursday, 1 September 2011 18:08 (thirteen years ago) link

two months pass...

Arab Strap are reforming for a one-off special gig at Nice N Sleazy in Glasgow on 17th November to celebrate the venue's 20th birthday.

Waiting eagerly to hear if I have tickets...

only NWOFHM! is real (krakow), Monday, 7 November 2011 22:34 (twelve years ago) link

I got tickets!

They announced the free show on twitter at ~9am yesterday, giving an email address to contact for tickets. Apparently all tickets were gone by 9:30am and the event was oversubscribed by around 900%, so these are rather hot tickets here in Glasgow.

only NWOFHM! is real (krakow), Tuesday, 8 November 2011 09:22 (twelve years ago) link

this was outrageously discriminatory against people who go to bed late.

stirmonster, Tuesday, 8 November 2011 21:11 (twelve years ago) link

anybody got any spares?

harzan, Tuesday, 8 November 2011 21:24 (twelve years ago) link

i saw wells and moffat last week in berlin. quite a short set (about 1 hour) but almost every song sounded like a song i'd already heard before, like a rediscovered classic from the subconsciousness of mankind. they played more or less the whole - pretty short - album and two songs from the ep. the trumpetist was great too, he added that special distant touch à la chet baker.

in the video of the already mentioned phantastic song "the copper top'" it is him in the coffin:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eu_qjcsF6Gs

alex in mainhattan, Tuesday, 8 November 2011 22:11 (twelve years ago) link

one year passes...

you said that i'm ok but you're just having fun
and we were out with the girls and getting drunk in the sun
i would have tried to talk you 'round but you know I'm not a believer
you noticed my eyes were red but that was just with hay fever

Roberto Spiralli, Wednesday, 24 July 2013 22:08 (eleven years ago) link

four months pass...

bumping just for "The Copper Top" and also

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MwQgMRxOYGQ

Jamie_ATP, Wednesday, 27 November 2013 17:05 (ten years ago) link

one year passes...

Link with a track:

http://www.chemikal.co.uk/news/bill-wells-aidan-moffat-announce-new-album/

djh, Thursday, 26 February 2015 21:19 (nine years ago) link

that song sounds great. i am intrigued for the follow-up of the debut which was one of my fave albums of the year it came out.

it's the distortion, stupid! (alex in mainhattan), Saturday, 7 March 2015 11:40 (nine years ago) link

cool!

i happen to just listen to 'serenade' yesterday, prob 1 of my fav songs of all time

johnny crunch, Saturday, 7 March 2015 19:48 (nine years ago) link

one year passes...

Let it be known...

http://arabstrap.scot/

Ned Raggett, Saturday, 11 June 2016 16:26 (eight years ago) link

I'd be more excited if their last several albums hadn't been really middling.

Ⓓⓡ. (Johnny Fever), Saturday, 11 June 2016 16:27 (eight years ago) link

pleased with this. some good stuff on last romance imo

still holding on to slim hope that their label bosses might reform one day too

sktsh, Saturday, 11 June 2016 16:53 (eight years ago) link

I'd love a S/D of stuff post Philiphobia

blazed carrot (rip van wanko), Saturday, 11 June 2016 19:55 (eight years ago) link

and why were they scared of Philip obv

blazed carrot (rip van wanko), Sunday, 12 June 2016 08:36 (eight years ago) link

i think elephant shoe and monday & the hug and pint are just as good if not better than philophobia

rockpalast '82 (upper mississippi sh@kedown), Monday, 13 June 2016 17:48 (eight years ago) link

got off the bus with Elephant Shoe. Elephant SHIT more like!!!!!1

PaulTMA, Monday, 13 June 2016 20:46 (eight years ago) link

Surprised how few Arab Strap albums I own. May have sold them online while drunk or having a "don't like Arab Strap" phase.

djh, Monday, 13 June 2016 21:53 (eight years ago) link

I'll always love that their first single was basically a "Good Times" anthem.

Did they continue in that vein?

Mark G, Monday, 13 June 2016 22:30 (eight years ago) link

yes

The Nickelbackean Ethics (jim in glasgow), Monday, 13 June 2016 22:38 (eight years ago) link

Nothing else they've done reminds me of "first big weekend"!

blazed carrot (rip van wanko), Monday, 13 June 2016 23:03 (eight years ago) link

It's on:

HELLO AGAIN.
ARAB STRAP WITH STEVE LAMACQ, BBC RADIO 6MUSIC, WEDNESDAY 15TH JUNE 2016 FROM 4PM.

Ned Raggett, Monday, 13 June 2016 23:10 (eight years ago) link

Listened to 'The Red Thread' and 'Monday at the Hug and Pint' the other night, both are really good. 'The Last Romance' is a bit flat for me but has a couple of decent songs. "Where We've Left Our Love", which ended up on '10 Years of Tears', is better than anything on the album itself.

michaellambert, Monday, 13 June 2016 23:34 (eight years ago) link

I suppose I should really give the other albums a go. I was all over Philophobia during my last year of school but the follow up was just dead borin'

Arab Strap fact: there's a locally-printed graphic novel called Big Moff which is a fairly prejudiced take on the life of Aidan Moffat, who in this form walks around entirely nude and tried to pay for items in the newsagent with jobbies.

PaulTMA, Tuesday, 14 June 2016 00:28 (eight years ago) link

Nothing else they've done reminds me of "first big weekend"!

― blazed carrot (rip van wanko), Tuesday, 14 June 2016 07:03(9 hours ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

Well, there is this of course:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sSAms-TTtwc

Camaraderie at Arms Length, Tuesday, 14 June 2016 08:26 (eight years ago) link

lololololol

PaulTMA, Wednesday, 15 June 2016 00:06 (eight years ago) link

someone told me that the artist behind Big Moff approached Aidan to see if he was OK with and he said something like "aye, it's a fair depiction". This I think was prior to the character filling entire alleyways with faeces

PaulTMA, Wednesday, 15 June 2016 00:08 (eight years ago) link

Elephant SHIT more like!!!!!

clever, I guess but also very wrong.

kwhitehead, Wednesday, 15 June 2016 14:55 (eight years ago) link

more like elephant shit

ienjoyhotdogs, Wednesday, 15 June 2016 15:01 (eight years ago) link

shite

riverine (map), Wednesday, 15 June 2016 15:06 (eight years ago) link

listened to Philo again for the first time in maybe 10 years, so so so good

I remember a post from a few years ago someone was lamenting the fact that Other Music was playing Arab Strap in the store, as if that was the lamest thing imaginable. Smh

blazed carrot (rip van wanko), Wednesday, 15 June 2016 21:10 (eight years ago) link

two weeks pass...

Weird. Managed to miss that

a) there is an Aidan Moffat film ("Where You're Meant To Be")
b) that it was shown in Oxford
and
c) that Moffat played live, too.

There are some other screenings coming up:

http://whereyouremeanttobe.com/event-screenings/

djh, Monday, 4 July 2016 20:11 (eight years ago) link

three months pass...

Was at the London show on Thursday and it was simply the best show I ever saw them do. The flow of the set, how rehearsed they were, how much fun they were having... they even made me care about Turbulence, a song I never took to before.

I'd like to think this was a point proven, and it's over for another 5 years and the next anniversary. Something this special shouldn't be devalued.

Horizontal Superman is invulnerable (aldo), Sunday, 16 October 2016 16:52 (eight years ago) link

two years pass...

Anyone heard Moffat/Hubbert's "Ghost Stories for Christmas"?

djh, Thursday, 6 December 2018 20:53 (five years ago) link

Yeah it’s bloody excellent, immediately bought a ticket for their Manchester Soup Kitchen show, without stopping to realise it’s the night of my work Xmas party. About 50/50 on going atm and that’s turning down a lot of free booze, so you must realise it I is v good.

avoid drinking on an empty liver (fionnland), Thursday, 6 December 2018 20:59 (five years ago) link

ill listen to any old hubby material but haven't heard yet

( ͡☉ ͜ʖ ͡☉) (jim in vancouver), Thursday, 6 December 2018 21:03 (five years ago) link

Is "Only You" typical?

djh, Thursday, 6 December 2018 21:31 (five years ago) link

and yes, fairly typical aye

Your dad's Carlos Boozer and you keep him alive (fionnland), Friday, 14 December 2018 23:36 (five years ago) link

Tonight Aidan jumped off stage to chuck a prick of a heckler out and Hubby joked about fucking the Queen. The music was bloody good too.

Your dad's Carlos Boozer and you keep him alive (fionnland), Friday, 14 December 2018 23:39 (five years ago) link

one year passes...

Gigantic archive collection up on Bandcamp today

https://arabstrap.bandcamp.com/

Wuhan!! Got You All in Check (Camaraderie at Arms Length), Friday, 1 May 2020 14:24 (four years ago) link

three months pass...

They're back?!

pic.twitter.com/BnRW4osTAE

— Arab Strap (@ArabStrapBand) August 27, 2020

brain (krakow), Thursday, 27 August 2020 11:40 (four years ago) link

yayy i'm a sucker for this band

life is beauitul (rip van wanko), Thursday, 27 August 2020 14:26 (four years ago) link

I feel like they never really "go away" that long but I'm always happy to have em back.

unpaid intern at the darvo institute (Simon H.), Thursday, 27 August 2020 14:49 (four years ago) link

I'm assuming/hoping it means new music.

brain (krakow), Thursday, 27 August 2020 15:40 (four years ago) link

indeed it does!

https://youtu.be/f4CN6sxDvr0

unpaid intern at the darvo institute (Simon H.), Tuesday, 1 September 2020 17:49 (four years ago) link

video somewhat NSFW

unpaid intern at the darvo institute (Simon H.), Tuesday, 1 September 2020 17:51 (four years ago) link

(if you still have a workplace idk)

anyway this is surprisingly good!

unpaid intern at the darvo institute (Simon H.), Tuesday, 1 September 2020 17:52 (four years ago) link

Yeah, it seems very good!

brain (krakow), Tuesday, 1 September 2020 17:56 (four years ago) link

still enjoys a good shag our aidan

life is beauitul (rip van wanko), Tuesday, 1 September 2020 18:38 (four years ago) link

it almost sounds like they were satisfying an Arab Strab Comeback Single checklist: ominous guitars, beats, strings, shagging. check!

unpaid intern at the darvo institute (Simon H.), Tuesday, 1 September 2020 18:50 (four years ago) link

Off-topic, but this must be one of the earliest threads on ILM; I don't see many that predate 2001.

fetter, Tuesday, 1 September 2020 19:18 (four years ago) link

A joy to have them back tbf, this is good.

Monte Scampino (Le Bateau Ivre), Wednesday, 2 September 2020 11:14 (four years ago) link

six months pass...

New album contains zero surprises so far but it's solid as hell. Probably better than a couple of their original LPs.

stimmy stimmy yah (Simon H.), Friday, 5 March 2021 17:28 (three years ago) link

I didn't know I wanted this, but halfway in it's clear I did. Very much.

Johnny Fever, Saturday, 6 March 2021 04:57 (three years ago) link

two months pass...

Off-topic, but this must be one of the earliest threads on ILM; I don't see many that predate 2001.

Well, ILM does have (some of) its roots in a fan community for Belle & Sebastian, by whom see the third album.

anatol_merklich, Thursday, 20 May 2021 17:31 (three years ago) link

Never really listened to this act before, but damn I enjoy this!

anatol_merklich, Friday, 21 May 2021 10:05 (three years ago) link

New album is great, pretty much what I want from an Arab Strap record in 2021.

hamicle, Friday, 21 May 2021 11:26 (three years ago) link

four weeks pass...

"Another Clockwork Day" is somehow one of the most touchingly romantic things ever.

anatol_merklich, Saturday, 19 June 2021 22:37 (three years ago) link

two years pass...

Now, this is what you call an Arab Strap album.

https://pitchfork.com/news/arab-strap-announce-album-share-video-for-new-song-bliss-watch/

Dan Worsley, Friday, 26 January 2024 23:24 (nine months ago) link

“When you stay on brand”

Marten Broadcloak, mild-mannered GOP congressman (Raymond Cummings), Friday, 26 January 2024 23:50 (nine months ago) link

four months pass...

Album seems fairly decent.

djh, Monday, 24 June 2024 20:58 (four months ago) link

Sounds better with alcohol, it must be said (and was probably already presumed).

djh, Wednesday, 26 June 2024 22:42 (four months ago) link

one month passes...

Really enjoying it but would struggle to say why particularly. Perhaps because it sounds like this - This is a thread for ILXORS IN THEIR 50's - set to song?

djh, Wednesday, 31 July 2024 19:03 (two months ago) link


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