hypersongs

The Week Never Starts Round Here

The debut album, grown from traded cassettes.
Arab Strap, 1996

Middleton called it his favorite Arab Strap release. A 2010 reissue for the 15th anniversary added a bonus disc of John Peel session tracks and a 1996 live set from King Tut's in Glasgow. Pitchfork gave it 6.8, PopMatters 7 of 10, Q 4 of 5 and AllMusic 2.5; the Independent said it sounded like nothing but itself, and Treble in 2010 called it a diamond in the rough, with songs that tend to veer towards the underdeveloped. Bandcamp Daily called it an audacious first project.

Track listing

  1. Coming Down3:35
  2. The Clearing5:52
  3. Driving2:11
  4. Gourmet2:40
  5. I Work in a Saloon2:35
  6. Wasting3:42
  7. General Plea to a Girlfriend1:44
  8. The First Big Weekend4:53
  9. Kate Moss4:50
  10. Little Girls2:29
  11. Phone Me Tonight4:28
  12. Blood2:54
  13. Deeper7:35

More from Arab Strap

Philophobia (1998), Elephant Shoe (1999), Mad For Sadness (1999), The Red Thread (2001), Quiet Violence (2002), The Cunted Circus (2003), Monday At The Hug & Pint (2003), The Last Romance (2005), Acoustic Request Show (Nice 'n' Sleazy, Glasgow, 16th October 2004) (2005), Music From Rogue Farm (2008), As Days Get Dark (2021), Encrypted Valentines (2025), Philophobia Undressed (2025), Half-Told Tales (2026)

Sources

  1. The Week Never Starts Round Here, Wikipedia
  2. Arab Strap: An introspection, just for a change, The Skinny (2010)