Arab Strap

Fly on the duvet

Arab Strap are Aidan Moffat and Malcolm Middleton from Falkirk, who knew each other as teenagers, traded cassette tapes and started working together in 1995 bonding over Drag City artists like Will Oldham and Smog. They made demos in Moffat's bedroom on a borrowed four-track, including "Deeper" and "The Clearing", and sent them to Chemikal Underground and Domino; Chemikal answered. Middleton told The Quietus it began as something they were doing together as a bit of a joke until the demos happened. The lyrics are sung and spoken in Scots, and NME described them as fly on the duvet vignettes.

The First Big Weekend came out in 1996 on a limited seven-inch, and The Week Never Starts Round Here on November 25, 1996, produced by Paul Savage at MCM Studios in Hamilton, with Moffat saying it was recorded pretty quickly and pretty cheaply. Philophobia (April 20, 1998, UK 37) was produced by Geoff Allan and Paul Savage in Glasgow; the Guardian gave it 4 of 5 and Drowned in Sound 10 of 10. Elephant Shoe (1999), The Red Thread (2001), Monday at the Hug & Pint (2003) and The Last Romance (October 17, 2005) followed, with the Cherubs EP reaching 5 on the UK singles chart. They announced a split on September 9, 2006 and played a final show on December 17, 2006 at Shibuya O-Nest in Japan.

A one-off reunion at Glasgow's Nice N Sleazy on November 17, 2011 led to a full reunion announced in June 2016, with shows at Electric Brixton, the Manchester Ritz and Glasgow Barrowland on October 13 to 15, 2016. "The Turning of Our Bones" (September 1, 2020) was their first new material in fifteen years, and As Days Get Dark (March 5, 2021, Rock Action) reached 14 in the UK, number one in Scotland. I'm Totally Fine with It Don't Give a Fuck Anymore followed on May 10, 2024. Moffat has recorded as L. Pierre and Middleton as a solo artist. Bandcamp Daily says they inspired Frightened Rabbit and The Twilight Sad.