Malcolm Middleton A Brighter Beat by: Dan Grimsey Mon:30-Jul-07 Label: Full Time Hobby Year: 2007 WB rating 66 out of 100

Malcolm Middleton starts A Brighter Beat, his third and chirpiest album, by stating that ‘We’re All Going To Die’, a song fuelled by the chant “you’re gonna die/you’re gonna die/you’re gonna die alone.” Depressing stuff, particularly considering that these are amongst the brightest sentiments on the whole album, but I guess this is what one should expect from a tubby middle-aged Scottish drunkard who made his name with Arab Strap, a band most commonly described as ‘miserablists’.

But this album isn’t completely downtrodden, as, just to confuse matters, the lyrics are juxtaposed with a relative cheerfulness in the music, often exhibiting a danceable beat. As such, the feel of A Brighter Beat is one of a ying-yang relationship in music and words; a feel that is best characterised in ‘Fight Like The Night’ where Jenny Reeve’s (Reindeer Section/Eva/hanging around in the background of Arab Strap) love-drenched vocals provide an optimistic ying to the pessimism of Malcolm’s yang. The result is a sweet mingling, which, when combined with a catchy chorus, creates an anthem of hit single proportions.

This happy music/sad song formula continues until about half way in, here it drudges to a state where even the music refuses to keep the spirits up, as Malcolm remembers “failure after failure after failure.” If there was a ‘brighter beat’ before it has surely been dulled now. But A Brighter Beat is rescued from being a complete drear, not only by the danceable tunes, but by Malcolm’s voice – as an absolute sour-puss, he does it with charm. What other nationalities can sing a line like “fuck it, I love you/there you go,” having it sound like Shrek, and still managing to turn the song into a tear jerker? Ah, accents can be amazing things.

Sometimes Malcolm stops being so down on the world and takes a break from sarcastically insulting people. Sometimes he’s quite sweet. Sometimes he even says ‘I love you’ without souring it with a curse word. But this is not how we want our grumpy old men, so songs like ‘Somebody Loves You’ can be quite safely skipped, in the name of avoiding sentimental schlock. There’s need for a qualification here however, since Malcolm Middleton’s songs, for the most part, are actually romantic – albeit in a lonely way.

In the end, it is possible that Malcolm is actually, and rather surprisingly, an optimist. There are sparks of brightness throughout the album, despite the obvious negativism of its surface. Even ‘We’re All Going To Die’ finishes quite brightly with “we’re all one in a million/we’re alive, we existed, we took part, in the game.” And if a grumble bum like Malcolm Middleton can find a bright spot in something like death, then the world must really not be such a bad place after all.