SEVEN NOISES

Not long ago I made a post about Aidan Moffat's last single and traveled in time to remember the virtues of the first days of Arab Strap. Now it's the time to talk about Malcolm Middleton's last single. I particularly still consider his first solo album as his best effort and have not enjoyed so much all the other releases that followed that record. Anyway, this last EP is worth to review and listen as it's a strange creature on its own as Malcolm performs some covers we could have never imagined he would dare to play even less record and publish. Or could we after he included a Madonna cover on the album he released a couple of years ago?

Anyway, Arab Strap always showed a strange taste on the covers they used to perform live (AC/DC's You Shook me All Night Long or Bonnie Tyler's Heartache) but Malcolm tightens the strings and puts out a 4 song EP of girl bands / performers covers choosing The Saturdays' Issues, Girls Aloud's Call the Shots, Ladyhawk's My Delirium and Joan Osborne's One of Us, all sung with his characteristic Glaswegian accent and perform with his acoustic guitar to end up sounding as a Malcolm Middleton classic song.

I know that the fact of a serious artist covering a mainstream hit is not something new as many people has done it before, but it's always something interesting and fun to listen to.

I've never been able to get over the magic lyricism of Philophobia, one of the most beautiful albums of the 90s. Everything Arab Strap did afterwards, although it was always good, could never reach that album, perfect to play at any time of the day. While they were together, both Aidan and Malcolm, had parallel projects being Aidan more focused in the relaxed melodies of Lucky Pierre and Malcolm in classic acoustic pop songs. Since they split some years ago both have been pretty productive. Aidan has parked his instrumental project to work more in an opposite direction, placing the lyrics and the stories in a main position like he did in his album I Can Hear Your Heart, a compendium of bedtime stories occasionally accompanied by music and lately with his new band the Best Ofs, with a more classical approach to the concept of song and a beautiful package including a board game. From this last album, but in a different version, is where this single comes from, a song dedicated to his new born son who was still about to get born when he wrote it. The back photo and the video for the song are stills from the moment his son was about to be born. Once again, Aidan feels no fear to share his most intimate life with us but this time is not about sex, but the result of having it. The b side, an unreleased track, it's a children's story. It looks like paternity has really got into him, so can't wait to hear new songs about nappies, baby food or the joys of joining nursery school.