"Bliss is probably the most openly danceable song we've ever had": Arab Strap prepare for Scottish tour

After ten years away, having called it a day at the end of 2006, they marked their 20th anniversary with a return to the stage with much celebrated shows at the Barrowlands in October 2016. Soon they returned to the studio, with the release of As Days Get Dark the end product - their first album of new material since 2005’s The Last Romance.

Now in their third act, they’re setting off on another Scottish tour that will see them take in St Andrews, Aberdeen, Edinburgh, Dumfries, Galashiels and Glasgow in support of their latest album, I’m Totally Fine With It, Don’t Give A F*** Anymore - which was released in May and has been met with critical acclaim.

There was a chance to celebrate their first act late last year, as Aidan Moffat and Malcolm Middleton “quietly” celebrated the 25th anniversary of second album Philophobia with a stripped back, or “undressed”, tour. However, according to Moffat the pair are looking forward to a noisier tour this time round.

“The Philophobia stuff was good fun. But, I think everybody enjoys making more noise on stage. It's definitely a very different beast,” Moffat says. “So with the songs we've chosen, even the quiet song we chose from our fourth album, was transformed into a big, noisy end. So it’s a very different affair.”

There were opportunities earlier in the year to showcase the latest album live with a tour of England in May - “that seems like a lifetime ago!”, Moffat laughs - and then last week with dates in Holland and Germany.

“I think when you have a new record, a new set and new songs to play, for the first couple of months, you're warming in anyway. So now we can relax a bit and go ‘we know how to play them’, now we just can just enjoy it and have some fun,” Middleton says. “And it's sounding good. The band sounds great. It's a little more dynamic than the album, which is pretty dynamic anyway but it's good. It's exciting.”

The tour will see something of a homecoming for Middleton, who was born in Dumfries - “There is a statue of you isn’t there?” Moffat jokes - as the band venture out into some less travelled areas of Scotland.

“Scotland’s only got a handful of cities anyway, so it always feels a bit bad just doing Edinburgh, Glasgow, so it's nice,” says Middleton.

The recent Holland and Germany dates, where the band sold out 400 and 500 capacity venues, highlighted that Scotland lacks options for proper rock venues according to Moffat.

“I think that's maybe what Scotland lacks, a wee bit like proper venues, about 400 or 500 capacity that are full-on rock venues,” He says. “We were talking the other day about how the old ABC is getting knocked down in Glasgow, which is a shame, that was about 1000 I think, but that was a great venue. It's a shame to see that building go.”

I ask them whether now is a period in time that is particularly suited to the music of Arab Strap, with their often dark and brooding themes and sounds. Answering what is undoubtedly a stupid question, Middleton says “Every time’s the perfect time.”

“Since our first album back, As Days Get Dark, was after lockdown and Covid, it kind of felt like it was unabashedly appropriate, even though it wasn't planned in any way,” Middleton continues. “But it did seem like on the whole there was more doom going around. When you have societies like that, you kind of tend to want happier music to get the opposite of what you're having every day. But I mean, it's definitely brooding times.”

However, for Moffat the album will perhaps go some way to dispel any opinion that the band are all doom and gloom.

“I think the music's pretty uplifting and joyous, to be honest, I think it's probably the most accessible and powerful record we've made,” Moffat explains. “Certainly, the lyrics are a bit, I mean, I don't really feel the need to write about happiness. I like to examine issues through lyrics, and whether that's personal issues or wider issues. And I think, you know, you can still do that sort of thing and still have fun.”

According to Moffat, the album’s first single, Bliss, is an example of this ability to weave the dark with the ability to dance.

“Bliss is probably the most openly danceable song we've ever had but the lyrics are a pretty grim story about the abuse women suffer online,” Moffat says. “I like to think you can meld these things in the way that it gets a message across, but you can still have fun.”

Moffat says that writing the lyrics for this album “was a bit of an eye opener”, with songs exploring misogyny online and those taken in by conspiracy theories - among the examinations of love, life and death that the band have perfected over nearly 30 years.

The online world and its effects on society play a role in the album. But if Arab Strap are a band so astute at describing the human condition, then it is perhaps no wonder that that is the case.

“I think these are things everyone's had to deal with, especially in the past few years, for obvious reasons. Life became mostly online. I mean this interview we're having right now, I don’t think we'd even have considered doing it like this five years ago,” Moffat says. “I think everyone goes through these sorts of things. Most people have a complicated relationship with screens and social media. I think everybody who uses it knows it's not a healthy environment, but we still have to be part of it. Or maybe you don't.”

You can catch Arab Strap on tour in September here:

Monday, 16 September - Byre Theatre, St Andrews

Tuesday, 17 September - The Lemon Tree, Aberdeen

Wednesday, 18 September - La Belle Angèle, Edinburgh

Thursday, 19 September - The Venue, Dumfries

Friday, 20 September - MacArts, Galashiels

Saturday, 21 September - Barrowland Ballroom, Glasgow