MALCOLM MIDDLETON
Australian Tour May 2008
Civil Society is delighted to announce Malcolm Middleton’s Debut Australian tour!
Middleton formed Arab Strap in which he played guitar with vocalist and keyboardist Aidan Moffatt after they met in their home town of Falkirk, Scotland and bonded over a mutual love for inexpensive booze and artists such as Smog, Will Oldham and late period Velvet Underground.
Although Arab Strap only actually broke up in 2006, both Moffatt and Middleton started solo careers several years ago. Middleton to date has put out three albums – ‘5.14 Fluoxytine Seagull Alcohol John Nicotine’ (2002), ‘Into the Woods’ (2005), ‘A Brighter Beat’ (2007) with a new ep, ‘Sleight of Heart’, due out in March.
‘Sleight of Heart’ follows an improbable bid for the Christmas number one slot with ‘We’re All Going to Die!’ (from ‘A Brighter Beat’) and is a stripped-back affair comprising of tracks written during the Brighter Beat sessions and a handful of cover versions including a tortured version of Madonna’s Stay. The album bookends what Malcolm describes as his “boo-hoo/way-hey! period”, using up all the leftovers and tying up the loose ends.
It all amounts to a captivating record from a man who’s fast becoming one of the UK’s most cherished – and prolific – artists. While you enjoy this one, Malcolm’s already is beavering away on his next full-length release, with mixed results so far. “Right now, everything sounds like a fat child throwing a Casio keyboard down a flight of stairs and hitting an old man at the bottom who’s playing Verve songs badly on an over-priced guitar,” says Malcolm.
So forget your made-for-television angst and your soulless songstresses weaving woeful tales of ones that got away – Malcolm Middleton is the real, raw, warts-and-all deal so make sure you catch him on his debut solo tour of Australia.
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