Chances are you probably still know MALCOLM MIDDLETON primarily as guitarist and primary foil for Aidan Moffatt in Falkirk cult heroes Arab Strap: basically a pissed-up Scots version of Joy Division who spent their (often excellent) recording career bemoaning the fact they couldn’t get off with their objects of female desire due to either brewer’s droop or that they simply couldn’t even see due to alcohol abuse.
Clearly, though, oor Malky had been hiding his gloomy creative light under a bushel, because during the course of his two previous solo outings (especially on the fully-formed, fatalistic magnificence of 2005’s ‘Into The Woods’) he proved he not only had a knack for winning and (whisper it) sometimes catchy melodies, but he also had a way with none-more-black lyricism which eclipsed the towering Mr. Moffatt. Certainly, this reviewer rates the two Middleton shows he’s witnessed of late (one solo, one with full band) as among the best gigs he’s attended in recent years.
Deceptively-titled third solo LP ‘A Brighter Beat’ is arguably even better than the mordant masterpiece that was ‘Into The Woods’ too. Recorded at Mogwai’s Castle Of Doom Studio (how apt, eh?) in Glasgow with Belle & Sebastian/ Dirty Pretty Things producer Tony Doogan at the controls, it’s a fully-realised forty minutes of savage, but often bleakly-humorous introspection set to tunes ranging from the dramatic to the surprisingly approachable and is never less than gripping.
The delightfully-accurate ‘We’re All Going To Die’ kicks us off in weirdly upbeat fashion. It’s a great indie-rockabilly surge with an electro tinge and before long you’ve surprised yourself by singing along with the none-more-fatalistic chorus (“we’re all gonnae die alone, all alone!”) and found it impossible to deny the sentiments behind lines like “if you can’t sleep at night and there’s no-one to hold you/ remember I’m going through the same”. Aye, absolutely.
The ensuing ‘Fight Like the Night’ and the title track (also his new single) continue in a similar hooks-first vein. The edgy former finds (I think) The Reindeer Section’s Jenny Reeve shadowing our hero’s main vocal in fine style and Malky yet again taking a punch on the nose from the darkness, while the (almost) catchy ‘A Brighter Beat’ is a great anthem for the dispossessed and emotionally-stunted masses. Featuring lyrics that are almost beyond wisdom (“Now you’ve gone and left me and there’s nothing here/ but a tenner in my pocket and a fridge full of beer”) it’s both empathetic AND hugely moving and should sound fantastic live.
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Wade a little deeper into the album and more familiar Middleton morbidity seeps in. Despite being built around a quite exquisite Bert Jansch/ Nick Drake-style acoustic guitar figure (Middleton is a superb guitarist, don’t forget), ‘Somebody Loves You’ is sparse and breathy and almost reminiscent of Elliott Smith, while the morose and maudlin ‘Four Cigarettes’ is quintessential Middleton, aided and abetted by stark piano and drums hammering slowly like the lid being nailed down. Imagine Arab Strap, but with more strings and woodwind and you’re still mad for this peculiar brand of sadness, only it’s on a grander scale these days.
In fact, if we’re allowed to use words like ‘epic’ and ‘ambitious’ in a Malcolm Middleton review, then we should take in the tremendous twin KO of the closing tracks ‘Up Late At Night Again’ and ‘Superhero Songwriter’. The first is typically vulnerable and full of classic Middleton lines like “I don’t ever wanna say goodbye/ if I go first I’ll tell you what it’s like” and couched in gorgeous strings, brass and chiming guitar, while ‘Superhero Songwriter’ is complex and almost Spectorian in design. Can we get away with calling it a ‘suite’? Thought not. Never mind, it’s ace anyway, so there!
Malcolm has himself described ‘A Brighter Beat’ as “a pop album for people who hate pop music”, and as soundbites go, that’s pretty close, especially as arguably the album’s prettiest tune goes by the immortal title ‘Fuck It, I Love You.’ More pertinently, it’s arguably the third time in a row that this resolutely downbeat, limelight-eschewing character has produced a tell-it-like-it-is collection that’s knocked our socks off. Believe it or not, but if he keeps on like this, we’ll soon have forgotten he was ever in Arab Strap and be judging him solely on the brilliance of records like this.
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