A Brighter Beat

The successor to the Arab Strap man’s highly acclaimed 2005 solo outing, Into The Woods, this follows a similar sonic approach, amounting to a kind of homely acoustica, buoyed by a light rhythm section and the occasional wash of string textures and backing vocals. Think a more ragged Belle & Sebastian, and you’re not far off.
The melodies are well turned out and accessible, while the song titles (e.g. ‘We’re All Going To Die’, ‘Death Love Depression Love Death’) are eye-catching. The title-track blends a Blondie beat (‘Heart Of Glass’) with acoustic guitars, keyboards and a dramatic verse-line building to a frenzied crescendo. ‘Fuck It, I Love You’ is a charming, jingling ditty as honest, direct and forthright as you’ll hear this year: “When are you coming home, don’t want to be alone.”
The lyrics, vignettes and casual observations are more like diary entries – the slow-burning late night musings on ‘Four Cigarettes’ being a perfect case in point: “I think about you sleeping, your legs on my side of the bed and you're dreaming, putting up a fight.”
His voice could hardly be described as a thing of beauty and he revels in his strong Scottish accent; ‘Stay Close, Sit Tight’ is almost spoken but such are the unassuming charms of Middleton (who you can see with Badly Drawn Boy at the Olympia on February 10).