Date: Wed, 25 Mar 1998 22:38:59 -0000 From: Andrew Norman Subject: Re: Arab Strap <> EP On Wednesday, March 25, 1998 3:25 PM, David Thorpe [SMTP:djt@ROBOTS.OX.AC.UK] wrote: > Arab Strap - Here We Go/Trippy (Chemikal Underground) > > Glasgow's Arab Strap released a track from their new album this week, > which sounds as good as anything on last year's < Round Here>> LP. A drum machine, guitars and piano as well as Aidan's > (soon to be) legendary rubbish talked over the top. I'm not sure this > translates across cultural boundaries, but I find it hilarious. I've been > to one abysmal AS concert but by the sound of this EP and the recent > concert broadcast on BBC's Radio 1 they are learning fast and will soon > sound identical to the mightly Mogwai. There is the fact that Mogwai have used Aidan as vocalist on a couple of songs, of course. Spent most of today listening to "Young Team" while not being hassled by students (two days till the "no more help with your projects" deadline), and I have decided it's quite good, but the Juicy Eureka album is better. "Here We Go" is another example of Arab Strap's ability to write touching, tuneful songs (most of the debut album, let's face it, is scrappy). "Trippy", to my mind, overdoes the druggy Scottish Trainspotting act a little, it's twelve and a half minutes long and as David says there's a Mogwai-style instrumental freak-out during the bit where one of the characters is having a bad trip. Still prefer the "Girls of Summer" EP (first track is probably the most embarassingly accurate and filthy portrayal of adolescent sexuality ever, and has a great tune), or the "Smell of Outdoor Cooking" single on Lissy's (like the Juicy Eureka album). They are definitely on the way to something great, while retaining their endearing ramshackle rough quality. > On the other hand, Mogwai released > an absolutely awful EP this week - a cover version of a Black Sabbath > song. It is available for the price of a 7" even on CD, but it's basically a joke - Magoo do "Black Sabbath", and Mogwai don't even make a decent attempt at turning "Sweet Leaf" into a comedy song. I'm not quite sure what the point of this was - it doesn't rock (in the way that Black Sabbath did) and it doesn't take the piss effectively either. Date: Thu, 16 Apr 1998 10:37:57 +0100 From: David Thorpe Subject: Recently in the UK... ARAB STRAP Philophobia (Chemikal Underground) LP 4 stars out of 5 Fretful sounds from the Scottish band whose name refers to a ring placed around the penis. Philophobia tells 13 stories of love, lust, booze and betrayal. Vocalist Aidan Moffat is currently the best storyteller around. He mumbles barbed tales of libidinous anger and self-disgust over dark clouds and brooding synths. Arab Strap interminably parse the grammar of relationships on songs like Here We Go - "How am I supposed to walk you home when you're at least 50 feet ahead?/ 'Cause you walked off in a huff, and I'm that pissed I can't remember what it was I said". Philophobia pictures a pessimistic dialectic of neediness and abuse in relationships with a starkly, honest beauty. (John O'Reilly, from the Guardian) Date: Fri, 1 May 1998 09:45:28 +0400 From: valeri jakushev Subject: VHF Records From: "7 7" To: indiepop-list@eskimo.com since i so seldom see any other than the obvious bands mentioned here, whether in one-liners or longer posts, i will say that the upcoming arab strap on matador, "philophobia," is really nice. this is the new a.s. record, matador's reissue of "the week never starts round here" comes out soon though, i believe. i'm actually not really a tindersticks fan, but that's the band that comes to mind when i listen to this record (a.s. succeed for me where tindersticks fail, creating that intangible atmosphere that i love so much). deep, sometimes difficult to understand lyrics (unless you're scottish, and alas, i am not) spread out over very quiet arrangements of gentle electronic percussion (very relaxed drum machine, not that speedy skittering beat that seems so in vogue today), thoughtfully plucked guitar strings, very nice. music such as this might be better suited for fall or winter, but when it's this good i'll take it any time. Date: Wed, 6 May 1998 11:37:34 +0100 From: David Thorpe Subject: Arab Strap <> review - non 4AD I'm afraid I've got another non-4AD review, but I think this record actually compliments Lisa Germano's female-low-self-esteem world perfectly. From my understanding this record is soon to be released in the US by Matador. Buy it! ARAB STRAP Philophobia CHEM21CD Chemikal Underground Records Is this a joke? Unflattering nude portraits on front and back; a condom-pink inner; a first song < which infamously opens with "It was the biggest cock you'd ever seen/but you've no idea where that cock has been." and a booklet which pretends to be written by the next Nick Hornby. Well, I'm smiling and laughing for the duration of this record, but it's more a laugh of nervous embarrassment. I've been there, done that, and wish I hadn't either. On <> for example, Aidan Moffat poetically pronounces "Bird number one taught me I shouldn't trust/and that's why I find unfounded doubts abound/But number two proved that with none, we've nothing/And now I'm only happy when you're not around." Whether your own experiences match Aidan's or not, it's difficult not to get caught up in his painful world of missed opportunities, petty lies and emotional tightropes. The seeds of this style were sown on the first well-received Arap Strap LP <>. But much of the shambolic arrangement there has been replaced by a more confident lush sound. The slowly paced guitars, piano and hammond organ help only to entice you into this intense reality; at 65 minutes it's perhaps 15 minutes too intense. And deadly serious. Date: Fri, 19 Jun 1998 20:23:39 PDT From: Daniel Damierne Subject: Re: arab strap >okay, so i bought the 2cd of mogwai remixes, and i'm loving it. the arab >strap remix is one of the highlights of the set -- can anyone tell me more >about this group? what their normal stuff is like, points of reference, >etc. i know they have two full-lengths out, one of which is a new release. >quite intrigued, > >; e. > Arab Strap is more or less Aidan. That's the vocalist. He normally drawls and rambles on in that oh-so-rad voice of his, and personally, I love it. It's pretty confessional sometimes, and other times you don't really care what he's saying cos it flows with the music. The music is pretty interesting too. Check it out for yourself. Date: Sat, 20 Jun 1998 09:45:47 +0100 From: David Thorpe Subject: Re: arab strap Some more information about Arab Strap: the two albums are called "The Week Never Starts Round Here" (released last year) and "Philophobia" (released a couple of months ago). The first album is somewhat mixed - ranging from Adian singing drunk into a tape recorder one night - which we have all tried at sometime or another - to "The First Big Weekend" a fantastic tune most famously used in Guiness adverts. I remember going to a concert here in Oxford which was similarly a mixed blessing. The second album is much better - somewhere between last year and this Arab Strap eshewed their scrappy side and decided to write solid beautiful tunes instead. The contrast between the lush instrumentation and the harsh - sometimes disgusting - lyrics is what they will be remembered for. The embarrassment of listening to the ballad of our schooldays as "sung" by Aidan is somewhat funny as well. My main criticism is that the new album is too long, but one can do wonders with modern programmable technology. Date: Mon, 22 Jun 1998 21:28:25 +0100 From: Andrew Norman Subject: Re: arab strap I'll just put in a recommendation for the "Girls of Summer" EP, which contains "Hey! Fever", their finest melding of filthy lyrics, great tune and sensitive instrumentation. One track's on the new album, a shame it isn't the best one. And the "Here we go/Trippy" single has a long B-side which could be a missing chapter from "Trainspotting".