Malcolm Middleton - "A Brighter Beat"

Malcolm Middleton - Fuck It, I Love You (Full Time Hobby 2007)

Malcolm Middleton - A Brighter Beat / Full Time Hobby

In the canon of history's great drinkers - Ulysses S. Grant, Shane MacGowan, Duff from Velvet Revolver, Amy Winehouse - there are two guys that hold a special place of their own for alcoholic artistry. Aidan Moffat and Malcolm Middleton made their name under the Arab Strap moniker throughout the Chemikal Underground by slaying audiences on both sides of the Atlantic with their wry twist on life in another kind of middle - Falkirk, Scotland, unglamorously located halfway between the refined air of Edinburgh and the roughened beauty of Glasgow. Given the Chemikal connection, Arab Strap quickly adapted to become Glaswegian visionaries of their own by proxy - when Aereogramme was a little too forced and Mogwai a little too wordless, there was Arab Strap to hold down their own brand of bitter post-folk, with seconds on the bitter. And thirds on the lager.

Ten Years of Tears was the epilogue earlier this year to an Arab Strap story full of cheap drinks and great songs. But neither gentlemen were too sorry to see it go, and Moffat now carries on in instrumental form after being the 'Strap's lead singer for so many years under the name L. Pierre. Middleton has opted out of the sexual antics to stick with his own name as he has done since 2002's excellent but impossibly named 5:14 Fluoxytine Seagull Alcohol John Nicotine. 2005's Into the Woods was a good deal brighter and Middleton continues on an upward swing away from his bottoming out with A Brighter Beat, which admittedly came out in February in the UK but is just now getting a release date from Full Time Hobby in the US.

Good thing they remembered to get around to that, too. This is a fantastic little album that brings forth both bright pop songs ("We're All Going to Die," obviously) and classic folkaholism Arab Strap were so famous for ("Somebody Loves You"). He's not doing it all on his own, with a laundry list of assistants including Mogwai's Stuart Braithwaite, Barry Burns of The Delgados, Middleton's old compatriot Moffat, and wonderful female vocalists Nicola MacLeod and Jenny Reeve (another Arab Strap accomplice who also plays violin here).

"We're All Going to Die" is exactly the kind of song that made onlookers wonder whether to laugh or cry to Arab Strap. Riding a rollicking, fast-paced tempo, Middleton's trademark accent and relatively limited range are used to maximum effect. Boisterous is the first word to come to mind, but instinct says that despite a swooping orchestral backdrop, you really shouldn't get your hopes up too high for this to be the ebullient intro to a Malcolm Middleton party mix.

"Fight Like the Night" starts off a little mellow, but an 80s synth and another relatively upbeat tempo give it a different feel from late-night pub crawl casualties. That fighting figures prominently in the lyrics may make such a bouncy sound coincidental, but I get the impression that Middleton is the kind of guy who gives away a lot less than he knows. In short, he's clever and his wit never leaves him no matter the bar tab.

"Death Love Depression Love Death" starts off quietly enough, but like the general format of this record, it bursts to life and sounds as much a folk-punk song for three-quarters of its running as anything else. It's also one of the most aggressive tracks on the album, which sets "Fuck It, I Love You" up perfectly. With xylophones and a stupid Belle & Sebastian grin as the backdrop to the verse, Malcolm inevitably drops into a melancholy fall for the chorus complete with Reeve and strings. "When are you comin' home?" he asks in earnest. The answer doesn't matter, because the text message on his mobile has already shown the broken nature of another one of Malcolm's lost loves. This is the cardinal mistake he'll never learn; if he does, his music career would certainly change dramatically somehow.

Strings (and brass) also feature heavily in the lurching grandeur of "Superhero Songwriters," which feels a lot larger than it is. Halfway through, everything drops out and it's just you and Malcolm hanging out with an acoustic six-string again. Fade in on the tickled ivory, then ride out on a fuzzy guitar and lamenting a change of the world from your bedroom. Ba-da-dum nah nuh, nah nuh. A pop album for people who hate pop music. Yes.

Malcolm Middleton described it that way himself earlier this year. There's no doubt that the shades of Arab Strap past are still lingering, but Middleton has brought a brightening influence into his music. Who knows how much Falkirk pubs have made off of this guy, but if his music is anything to go by, Malcolm Middleton's bar tab might be changing for the lesser. Three albums in to a solo career that has only recently become his primary focus, it's sounding like a good thing. We'll raise a glass to that, toast a future full of sober-folk, and wonder what the hell will come of it all. There's only one way to find out.