ARAB STRAP - HALF-TOLD TALES - ROCK ACTION

Arab Strap’s new album Half-Told Tales, the group’s ninth, arrives today almost three decades to the day since their first single was released. “We’re thirty years old this year,” says the duo, “So we decided to celebrate by doing what we enjoy most: by making new music.”

It’s a remarkable listen that runs the gamut from disco to metal via post-rock, spoken word, complete with flourishes that span everything from folk to electronica, and still retain an unmistakable core identity. But this is what makes Arab Strap still such an exciting and dynamic band at this point: they retain their inimitable characteristics while also continuing to push on into new directions and musical terrain. “We always try different styles but it always sounds like us,” says guitarist Malcolm Middleton. “Whether it's a samba drum beat or a dance beat or live drums. Our identity just comes through in the studio.” 

Despite the album tackling a lot of weighty issues, from the personal to the political, it was important for singer and lyricist Aidan Moffat to anchor himself to optimism within those subjects. “I think there's a hope in there,” he says. “There's actually some genuine joy in the record. I was quite conscious of that, as the last one was really dark.” 

Perhaps the most prevailing theme across the record is time. “The album title sounds like a fairy tale book, until you get to the end of the record and you realise that I'm talking about lives that have ended too early,” says Moffat. “That's something that just seems to be part of your life when you get to your fifties. You become acutely aware that you're in that final third of your life. I think every single song has some element of time or some discussion of its passing and how to use it as best you can while you have it.”

“The best thing to celebrate our birthday was to do something that was new, interesting and exciting for us to play,” Moffat says. “The last thing we wanted to be was one of these heritage bands that just keep touring old records.”