Any artist that has a lyric as profound as the title of today’s post has my attention forever.
However I am thrilled to tell you that I am now the proud and excited owner of a limited edition of the 3rd! return LP by an all-time personal fave that had broken up and was no more.
Aidan and Malcolm were two lads from Falkirk, Scotland. They formed an outfit in the early 90’s.
Their music was unusual in that it had off- kilter rhythms and spoken word lyrics delivered in a thick Scottish brogue that narrated jarring tales of everyday life in Scotland.
Between their debut LP in ‘96 and their ‘06 swan song, they released 6 brilliant and thought- provoking studio LPs and a number of singles, live treats. They also cemented a feature seat in the penthouse of my collection.
They were named after a sexual device and they sang about everything and nothing.
Picture the show Seinfeld if the characters were from the Bronx, had no future and the show was on cable. and you start to get a sense.
Song titles like “The First Big Weekend Of Summer”, “New Birds”, “Packs Of Three”, “The Smell Of Outdoor Cooking” give you a sense of the canvas of life they painted musically (and often hilariously) about hanging out, drinking, drugs, sex, more drinking, less sex, debauchery and boredom in everyday life in Caledonia.
And then they were gone.
Amicably they said, but gut- wrenchingly for me, gone.
I got to see them live at St. Andrew’s Hall twice. By 2006, they were both releasing some solo works. However, that wasn’t a clue given the obvious camaraderie that they showed when we chatted about their solo releases on the floor before they went on. I had no clue it was soon to be actually over.
Over the next few years they released solo works and some with others. I loved it all, especially Malcolm’s, solo LPs. but…
A few live reunion in gigs occurred in the mid teens. And then the Starship returned with a new LP in 2021 and they are still going strong!
The band is ARAB STRAP 🏴. They are AIDAN MOFFAT and MALCOLM MIDDLETON.
Their new LP is entitled “Half- Told Tales”. It was released on September 4. My limited release copy (ordered from their mates at the excellent Monorail Records in Glasgow) arrived on Friday!
It is a fitting release following on their 2021 (“As Days Get Dark”) and 2024 (“I’m totally fine with it don’t give a f#%& anymore”) LPs. More about those this week.
Here is a track from this LP entitled “Glamour Magick.”
[Ed. Note- As is often the case with ARAB STRAP, there is a mild visual and lyric warning with this one…]
SPOTIFY-
https://open.spotify.com/track/456Wdl7ZsX8oMriru3J3hx?si=nvZlrDsaRm6oxHrVztbyiQ&utm_source=copy-link
(SONG 1745)
Play Loud or Perish
9/13/2026
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