Arab Strap

Beloved Scottish indie duo Arab Strap called it a day in 2006, but they reunited for a one-off gig in 2011, and then for a few more in 2016, in celebration of the 20th anniversary of their debut single and album. Around the time of the reunion shows, they also issued Arab Strap, a 20-track retrospective compiling highlights from their decade-long run, during which they released six studio albums and several non-album singles. Aidan Moffat and Malcolm Middleton had previously stated interest in re-forming for additional concerts, but not in writing and recording new material, as the hedonistic subject matter of their lyrics was so closely linked with their younger days. As such, this release doesn't contain any new material -- not even "The First Big Weekend of 2016," Miaoux Miaoux's psy-trance-leaning remix of the duo's lauded debut single. As with previous collection Ten Years of Tears, this also isn't a proper best-of. A few of the duo's most well-known songs are present, particularly on the first disc, but this isn't a checklist of A-sides. There isn't anything in the way of previously unearthed material -- the deepest rarities here were already compiled on Ten Years or the 2010 box Scenes of a Sexual Nature (with the exception of the 2004 compilation track "Mustard"). The songs aren't presented chronologically, so they shift abruptly from earlier, more minimalist songs (generally featuring drum machine, acoustic guitar, and spoken vocals) to later numbers with more developed instrumentation, including strings, horns, louder electric guitars, and more adventurous drum programming or live drums. Likewise, the collection showcases Moffat's lyrical range from tales of college-age debauchery to later songs focused on more substantial relationships. The first disc leans a little heavier on their dance-informed material, while the second one includes slower, more brooding tracks, such as the turbulent "We Know Where You Live" and "Blackness." Diehards will probably have everything on here already, but curious newbies or casual fans will likely be fascinated by the tracks they missed out on before. ~ Paul Simpson