The return of the acquired taste that is Arab Strap.  Yes, they have depressing lyrics, and to be stood here in the idiosyncratic Mean Fiddler shoulder to shoulder with other music fans belies the personal nature of these songs.  Nevertheless, the Arab Strap live experience differs sometimes drastically from the arrangements on record, and this tour is the band's most "musical" yet, with a two-piece string section and trumpet accompanying the more conventional band instruments.

It is nice to see Arab Strap embracing some of their lesser-played older tunes, such as the rearranged 'Here We Go' and 'Blood' – just don’t ask them to play 'Girls Of Summer' or 'The First Big Weekend'.  The sound was a little heavy on the violin and cello, and somewhat bass-weighted - which could be down to the idiosyncratically shaped venue rather than the sound engineer.  Fans were treated to a set of well over an hour-and-a-half, taking in some twenty songs, of which the recent single 'The Shy Retirer' and potential follow-up 'Serenade' were just two of the finest moments.  Malcolm Middleton displayed his intricate prowess on the guitar, while Aidan Moffat wallowed in his normal (stage?) persona of the grumpy bandleader whose mood can never quite be worked out.  As is normal, a few technical glitches plague the set, but Aidan’s wry humour makes it forgivable.  All adds to the tension, no doubt.

Two encores rounded off the night well, with the highlight of the set coming right at the end when they took acoustic requests from the audience, leading to memorable – and moving – renditions of 'Piglet' and 'Tanned'.  When they played 'Pro-(Your) Life' as requested, Aidan got quite emotional, presumably due to the nature of its true narrative about an abortion, bless him.  The surprising power that these simple acoustic versions can hold is endorsed by the quality of the free live CD on sale during this tour (with a title far too rude to type here) - worth catching one of these gigs simply to get hold of a copy.

Arab Strap remains a traditional "Indie" band insofar as they still retain a cult, underground status.  Once that taste has been acquired, however, addiction is only two or three songs away.

Review: Andrew Morrison
(This review also appears at Arab Strap's official website ArabStrap.co.uk.)