Arab Strap

The Scottish sadcore band, Arab Strap, is an awesome example of indie rock done right. Their live performances are on a whole different level, and the minimalism in their songs really creates a really melancholic, dreamy sound. In combination with the vocalist's spoken word type delivery of the vocals, the songs sound incredibly cold and isolated. Arab Strap's instrumentation can actually help create clever symbolism. The audience was actually totally still, and the music was very quiet and simple. One of Arab Strap's trademarks is their quiet, hushed sound. If you get the chance to see them, which I hope every music lover does, you will see what I mean when I say that their use of their instrumentation is extremely calculative, careful, and symbolic. The music is very poetic and slow. The vocalist has a humble voice, which compliments the music perfectly. Arab Strap has mastered the use of dynamics to paint a picture in their songs, and it is easy to understand why not only they are popular with crowds, but they are extremely influential in genres all over the world. Arab Strap has a classic indie rock sound that isn't overdone or cliche; combining poetry with indie rock, Arab Strap's product is worth enjoying over and over again.

Growing up around folk music, it has continued to be my favourite genre, and Malcolm Middleton I think, is one of the most talented multi-instrumentalist folk performers around at the moment. After listening to his five albums time and time again and knowing them inside out, I was incredibly excited to see him perform live, and I must say, I wasn’t at all disappointed. He opened the show with his guitar track My Delirium, and invited everyone to sing along to the chorus, which was incredible, I was stood by the front of the stage, and I couldn’t believe I was singing along with his song whilst he performed live!

It was incredible to see him switching between piano, guitar, and even a brief stint of a saxophone solo in his acoustic performance. When you listen to the recordings, it’s easy to forget how he plays all of his own backing music, and it was such a poignant reminder of what a talented musician he really is.

Middleton was wonderful at getting everyone to sing along with his songs, and he played a great selection of tracks ranging from his debut album, right up to Human Don’t Be Angry.