ARAB STRAP – Scottish Trippy Electro Vets Rock Out And Calm Down On Their New Album ‘HALF-TOLD TALES’
10 September 2026
Photo by Luke Bovill
Artists: ARAB STRAP
Who: Trippy Scottish electro-pop vets, Aidan Moffat and
Malcolm Middleton (1995–2006, 2011, 2016–present).
Album: HALF-TOLD TALES
Their 9th.
UNCUT Magazine (UK): “Over Middleton’s fertile arrangements, Moffat’s
poetry offers the reassurance that good people still exist in the world.”
TUTV: It’s the Scots 3rd rad LP in 5 years, following 2021’s As Days Get Dark and 2024’s bizzarly titled I’m Totally Fine With It 👍 Don’t Give A Fuck Anymore 👍. Yep, they
have their musical hat trick in the pocket.
On Half-Told Stories, half of the tracks are designed to rock out and freak out while trying
to pogo your way around the dancefloor in your head. More and more, the long-serving duo’s mix of trippy electronics and bouncy rock undercurrents comes with pumped-up, pounding decibels, like you can experience, among other stompers, to the full extent on the 3 dumbfounding singles (hear below)
Then again, half the record contains laid-back breathers, letting poetic storyteller Moffat look out the window and reflect on all things weird whirling in his mind, with his trademark wit and dark humour.
Put everything – low and slow, fast and fervent – together and you know for a certified
fact that the Scots delivered another buzzworthy showpiece for end-of-the-year lists.
– YOU YOU YOU –
– GLAMOUR MAGIK –
– FIGHTING FOR YOU –
ALBUM