Single of the Month
On a hiatus from the duties of Arab Strap, Malcolm Middleton has put self-imposed house arrest to good use. Loneliness shines has a more up-beat atmosphere than previous ‘Strap outings and his debut album, but still retains the inherently Scottish feel. Loneliness Shine is pushed by Flaming Lips style-crashing beats and swirling augmented keyboards give the song a powerful tension, coupled with lyrics that are typically downbeat with a tinge of hope and child-like innocence. The gleeful electronic beeps are sealed in a world of action computer games and Human League B-sides.
The full sound is help thanks to scraps of The Delgados, The Reindeer Section’s Jenny Reeve and other Chemikal Underground coterie. Malcolm hopes to take a flotsam of musicians on tour soon, and hopefully leaving the cans of ‘speshy’ that litter the streets, way behind him.