New Arab Strap single/video Strawberry Moon
Arab Strap release new song “Strawberry Moon”, the second single from their forthcoming album “I’m totally fine with it don’t give a fuck anymore ”. The track – premiered by Huw Stephens on his BBC 6Music drivetime show – sounds like nothing else the band have done before, with Malcolm Middleton’s bass coated in a thick layer of fuzz, backed by driving, twisting electronic drums that owe a debt to Afrobeat and Whitney Houston.
“Lyrically, it's maybe the most personal song on the album,” says Aidan Moffat, “About a period when I wasn't doing very well, both mentally and physically. I was walking with a cane and in pain most of the time, and drowning my sorrows too, trapped at home and watching the phases of the moon through a window. The moon always seems to pop up in my lyrics, and the song's a sort of secular hymn in praise of her constant change. She's always a comfort, always hopeful, and always makes me smile.”
The song's video, created with David Arthur – who worked with Moffat previously on the film “Where You’re Meant To Be” – features Middleton and Moffat as werewolf and priest in a chase across the city of Glasgow, and is the first time the duo have fully appeared in a video together in almost 25 years. "Aye, it's been a while," says Moffat, "So we thought we should go all out – costumes, make-up, special effects, acting, mobility scooter and all."
Watch the video for “Strawberry Moon” here
“Strawberry Moon'' follows the BBC 6Music playlisted album track “Bliss”, a song that perfectly exemplifies what is their most sonically expansive album to date. The track was accompanied by a video directed by award-winning, Glasgow based director Ains featuring a striking dancer personifying a character trapped in a dystopian realm.
Watch the video for “Bliss” here
The album release follows on 10th May 2024 via Rock Action Records and is available to pre-order and pre-save now in various formats, including digital, CD, classic black LP and exclusive to Independent record stores “emoji” yellow coloured vinyl.
Almost 28 years after their debut, Arab Strap have never sounded more essential, and this new record is a fierce testament to their laser focus on wider horizons. Written and performed exclusively by Malcolm Middleton and Aidan Moffat, and finessed with longtime collaborator Paul Savage, the album furthers the band’s transformation from swooning, slow-core romantics to raging, alt-pop chroniclers.
"I'm totally fine with it don't give a fuck anymore " may sound like the title of an album by a band giving up (it’s just a text from the band’s live drummer that Moffat thought was funny), but in reality it’s an album that stands to clearly define a new creative period for Arab Strap. With the band having recently wrapped up a tour celebrating the 25th anniversary of their 1998 album Philophobia, this new album feels charged by a desire to move forward and explore new terrain. “The tour’s been fun, but I’ll be glad it’s over so we can move on,” laughs Middleton, while Moffat echoes him. “The Philophobia gigs have been a way of saying goodbye to the old us,” he says. “It was a very gentle, quiet tour, so I expect this year we'll just be playing banger after banger – I think we've earned the right to make some noise now.”
The band have recently announced a series of live shows following the album release and are pleased to announce a series of new shows for the autumn in Scotland and Ireland. These new shows go on sale, Thursday 28th March from 10am.
20th May - The Brickyard, Carlisle, England
21st May - Fire Station, Sunderland, England
22nd May - Castle & Falcon, Birmingham, England
23rd May - Lantern, Bristol, England
24th May - Koko, London, England
25th May - Gorilla, Manchester, England
26th May - Brudenell, Leeds, England
30th May - Primavera Sound, Barcelona, Spain
31st May - Reithalle, Kaserne, Basel, Switzerland
20th June - Rocca Medievale, Castiglione del Lago, Italy
21st June - Botanique Bologna, Bologna, Italy
22nd June - Triennale Milano Teatro, Milan, Italy
11th Sept - Empire, Belfast, N. Ireland
12th Sept - Dolans, Limerick, Ireland
13th Sept - Roisin Dubh, Galway, Ireland
14th Sept - Whelans’, Dublin, Ireland
16th Sept - The Byre Theatre, St Andrews, Scotland
17th Sept - Lemon Tree, Aberdeen, Scotland
18th Sept - La Belle Angèle, Edinburgh, Scotland
19th Sept - The Venue, Dumfries, Scotland
20th Sept - MAC Arts, Galashiels, Scotland
21st Sept - Barrowland Ballroom, Glasgow
Tickets available via https://www.arabstrap.scot
