Arab Strap
The Red Thread
Album Review
Released: 2001
Album Review
Scotland has the most depressed, drunken songwriters in the world -- at least that's what you might think after wading through Arab Strap's back catalog. Elegant melodies and seductive chord changes mingle with lo-fi electronic beats and gloomy lyrics that are basically pages torn out of burly frontman Aidan Moffat's personal diary. "We meet each other late/'Cause I took my watch off there/So it wouldn't scratch your skin/Or get tangled in your hair," he sings on "Amor Veneris," the threadbare opening track from the group's latest album, The Red Thread. After a minor setback with last year's beat-heavy Mad For Sadness, this album is a glorious return to form -- it's hypnotic and heartfelt. (AIDIN VAZIRI)
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