Review: Malcolm Middleton - A Brighter Beat

Falkirk's favourite miserabilist Malcolm Middleton hasn't let much time go by since Arab Strap disappeared into oblivion and he split from longtime bandmate Aiden Moffatt; A Brighter Beat made it into stores as the successor to 2005's spectacular Into the Woods.

As with the earlier solo record, Middleton's work is a bit more upbeat than much of the Strap's output, although it shares the same earthy tone. In some ways, the new record is much softer (especially on tracks such as Stay Close Sit Tight, and Four Cigarettes; there's even a quasi Teenage Fanclub melody underpinning the excellent Up Late at Night Again); the second half has a gentler balladic quality that kicks off with the observational Fuck it, I love you and manages to remain more optimistic despite the slower arrangements.

The first half, on the other hand, has a more upbeat sound, but this is combines with gloomier subject matter ("today's as black as a white Scottish sky"), as on the oddly upbeat We're all going to Die. Hitting disco-stomp and reflective folk stylings on the way to the epic Superhero Songwriters ("I've even been banned from the smile party"), A Brighter Beat manages to encompass the melancholy and the joyful - and, of course, five pints of heavy...

mp3: We're all going to die
mp3: Superhero Songwriters

Amazon: Malcolm Middleton - A Brighter Beat