BBC Scotland recently repeated the 2014 documentary, ‘Where You’re Meant To Be’, in which Aidan Moffat set about reinterpreting traditional Scottish folk songs. Seeing him take ancient songs and put them in a contemporary framework offered an opportunity to reconsider his writing as part of Arab Strap and his guile in chronicling modern life. From his beginnings in the mid-90s detailing the queasy hedonism of ‘The First Big Weekend’ and ‘Girls of Summer’ through to their eighth album, “I’m Totally Fine With It Don’t Give A Fuck Anymore’, there is an increasingly sympathetic portrayal of attempting to stay afloat in the modern world.
In their differing ways, Moffat’s records have been about maintaining connection. However, the latest Arab Strap release thematically is a post-lockdown record with plentiful references to navigating the online world. That idea is immediately apparent in opening track, ‘Allatonceness’, in which Moffat directs his ire at the con merchants of social media “they’ve got your attention, the groomers and grifters and they’ve done their research… They’ve got our attention and they’re not giving it back’. This is followed by ‘Bliss’ about how women are terrorised online by the worst kind of cowards and how that virtual abuse spills over into the real world. “On a walk in the park in the dark all alone /Your keys in your bag, your earbuds full blast / To drown out the birds, disposition downcast / And you will call it bliss”. It is a grown up and deeply thoughtful piece of feminism to place alongside Courtney Barnett’s ‘Nameless, Faceless’.
These first two tracks showcase the variety of Malcolm Middleton’s musical backings from the brutal riffs and drums, almost a meta commentary on gaining attention, that is ‘Allatonceness’ through to the dancey and electronic backing of ‘Bliss’. The variety is in part due to the songs initially being planned as a selection of singles before being developed into an album. Middleton’s combination of drums, piano stabs and bursts of electronics on the musically busy., ‘Sociometer Blues’, shows a musical refinement while Moffat pleads, “when will I cured of this crippling, fucking FOMO… You take all my strength” in a song portraying social media as a cruel lover.
There is also continuity in the involvement of Delgados drummer and co-Chemikal Underground founder, Paul Savage, in the producer’s chair. Throughout the 12 tracks, there is plenty of musical and lyrical sustenance. ‘Hide Your Fires” has an anthemic and slightly nostalgic air while acknowledging the impossibility of returning to youth while ‘Summer Season’ shows Moffat’s way with an amusing aside in his answer machine message, “sorry I can’t take your call, I’m either busy or asleep’ while Middleton decorates the song with a quiet but spectacularly pretty piano line. On ‘Molehills’, Middleton’s post-rock melancholic guitar recalls Arab Strap’s origins before blending with electronics and building to a crescendo.
‘Strawberry Moon’ is Moffat’s most personal song on the album, recounting a time where he was struggling physically and mentally but is transformed into a hymn to the moon (“Big strawberry moon, save my soul / Let my body break but you stay whole”), the semi-euphoric piano line amidst a twisting electronic beat and bass fuzz giving the song an immeasurable lift. ‘You’re Not There’ is a touching love ballad about a man who sends texts messages to his deceased wife, using his phone as a modern Ouija board and is elevated by Moffat’s superior back-of-the bus croon.
‘Safe and Well’ is based on a story Moffat read of a woman who died during the pandemic and was left decaying with maggots crawling around and reflects on the ironies that this could happen in a supposedly connected world. Being juxtaposed with acoustic guitars and strings, musically the track comes closest to folk traditions. In contrast, ‘Dreg Queen’ has an air of reminiscence recalling a character who never left a drink behind and providing a running commentary (“Strangers on buses gave silent applause”.) The concluding ‘Turn Off The Light’ has him reflecting on fear of the modern world (‘I was scared to go out”) while Middleton utilises the quiet loud dynamic of Mogwai to create an ending that is beautiful and stirring.
Although ‘I’m Totally Fine With It Don’t Give A Fuck Anymore’ does not have one individual song to quite rival the superb ‘Tears on Tour’ from the recent ‘As Days Get Dark’, it is a coherent collection that gets to grips with modern paranoia with care and caustic wit.
Arab Strap: ‘I’m Totally Fine With It Don’t Give A Fuck Anymore – Out 10th May 2024 (Rock Action Records)
Strap – Bliss (Official video) (youtube.com)
I was editor of the long-running fanzine, Plane Truth, and have subsequently written for a number of publications. While the zine was known for championing the most angular independent sounds, performing in recent years with a community samba percussion band helped to broaden my tastes so that in 2021 I am far more likely to be celebrating an eclectic mix of sounds and enthusing about Made Kuti, Anthony Joseph, Little Simz and the Soul Jazz Cuban compilations as well as Pom Poko and Richard Dawson.
