Arab Strap

For those of you not familiar with them a few thoughts over on the reviews thread.

http://zerogain.com/forum/showthread.php?s=&postid=1360#post1360

prefer to post an individual thread aswell as just the review itself so as to prevent that thread getting cluttered.

For some reason the images aren't coming out on there though

 

I recently picked up 'monday night at the hug and pint' Have only listened to it a few times, but I think it is rather good. havent listened to it enough to review yet, but here is what I pinched from amazom

Kind of sums it up really.

Cheers, Robbo

 

havent heard much of arab strap, so not sure how similar it is - but i'm gonna recommend:

"son of evil reindeer" by the reindeer section

amazon link

 

Stick them in a ring with "so solid crew" and see who's still standing to neck the last can of tennants super!

 

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA !

I know those buggers. They're from Falkirk and boy do they love shouting about how crap it is. I've frequented many the same pub and had the odd conversation with them (friends of a few friends).

They used to be right twats but nowadays have chilled out considerably and it's apparant in their music as well because it's no where near as sh*te as it used to be.

 

vOOdOO

I've been tO the barrOwlands and that's abOut the Only naMe i recognize.

I used tO get the CheMikal UndergrOund news letter. SeeMed like an eventfull label.

I'm suprised they let yOu Out vOOdOO during pub frequenting hOurs!

 

For some reason the forum is not interpreting those as images. It may be that the filename has a "." in it before the .jpg extension, but that's a guess. A similar thing happened in another thread where the filename also had dots in it before the extension.

Michael.

 

How does it stack up against Philophobia? I rate Philophobia as their masterpiece and one of the very best albums of the 90s, absolutely superb. IMHO it is lyrically the most important post Smiths album bar none! I never felt that Elephant Shoe or Red Thread got close to Philophobia in quality or consistency.

Thanks for reminding me that I have that; I landed a CD pre-release promo a couple of years ago from MVE for a quid and kind of forgot about it. I've just found it and stuck it in the CD player, its fabulous. I wouldn't draw comparisons with Arab Strap at all, for me it's a totally different thing, but it is a superb album nonetheless.

Tony.

 

tony, glad u rediscovered it. only saw the connection as i remembered the arab strap people were involved.

 

Tony. I'd agree Philophobia is the MOst consistantly good/great of the albums I have too. Red thread is possibly the weaker of the three I own. Sort of seemed to have lost something where it gains in other areas. The way the other two are so simple yet BIG in atMOsphere impressed. That's not saying Red Thread is bad though!

You don't mention "The week never starts around here"
That's a definite one to get though! The first Big Weekend is worth the purchase alone! Complete with Homer and Marge reference!
I'm not sure if you've heard it already, but there's some quite amusing tracks on there. No music and just some drunken mumblings under the covers at 5am.
And the classic line (I think from Deeper) about being asked to do a spot of late night skinny dipping by a mates girlfriend who's walking you home. He agrees "but i kept ma pants on"

Classic!!!

 

I have it and like it a lot, I just don't think it is the totally consistent work of genius that Philophobia is. I bought them all in order shortly after they came out, though it was Philophobia that kind of floored me, its not that it does anything that The week never starts around here doesn't at least hint at, but it does it so phenomenally well and so consistently. I'm a big fan of 'whole' albums, ones with no filler and all the tracks in the right order - Philophobia is one of this ultra rare breed!

I'm not usually the kind of listener that hangs on every word, very few albums have totally knocked me out lyrically other than Joy Division, The Smiths and Half Man Half Biscuit (all for different reasons!). Philophobia just hit me straight between the eyes the way Unknown Pleasures did in 79, i.e. it was a total redefinition of how rock / pop lyrics work, it was to my mind without precedent. A grim kitchen sink reality, yet with so much truth, honesty and humour. I'm truly disappointed that it hasn't been acclaimed by all as a classic album, it deserves to be. Anyone without this album needs to at the very least hear it.

I had it on the CD player whilst I was typing my first post to this thread, when it got to track 12 and the Arab Strap vocalist gets a go on the mic I knew exactly what you were on about!

Tony

 

I dont know, I havent heard this album, but by the sound of it I should hear it.

Cheers Robbo

 

Indeed you should Robbo! Complete with naked drawing of himself and one of an ex girlfriend for the art work. On the two singles i've got there's photographs of some of their other female friends. Think he's trying to show that hes not jst making it up!

Philophobia is excellent. The recording is actualy quite good too. some really good guitar pieces and the vocals are recorded at just the right level. The "stories" are as i've read someone else say, like he's pouring salt into his own open wounds!

 

That's why they deported me !

:JPS: