Brittle, tender and intimate.
The best album of '98 by far.
If you like brooding and honest plays on words then this is for you.
Each song is built of a combination of lo-fi drum machine, guitar, piano and spoken work. Arab strap use this combination to create a unique and instantly identifiable style of their own. You can instantly taste the Mogwai esque flavours.
5 out of 5 without a doubt! ...
sav2k2000 07.01.2009
Ciao members have rated this review on average: helpful Review of Philophobia - Arab Strap
Product Information for "Philophobia - Arab Strap" »
Product details
Title
Philophobia
Performer
Arab Strap
Genre
Rock & Pop
Sub Genre
Alternative
Release Date
20/04/1998
Original Release Year
1998
Label / Distributor
Chemikal Underground / PIAS UK/Sony DADC
Engineer
Geoff Allan; Paul Savage
Pieces in Set
1
Studio / Live
Studio
Stereo
Stereo
Format
Performer
EAN
5020667342126
Additional notes
Album Notes
Arab Strap: Aidan Moffat, Malcolm Middleton. Additional personnel: Adele Bethel (vocals); Sarah Martin (violin); Cora Bissett, Alan Barr (cello); Alan Wylie (trumpet); Chris Geddes (Wurlitzer, Hammond B-3 organ); Stuart Murdoch (piano); David Gow (organ, drums); Gary Miller (bass). Arab Strap is similar to Nick Cave or Tindersticks in its timbre and its taste for ennui, but lacking in pretension and bombast. These simple and understated pieces are like the soundtrack from an endless rainy afternoon, and even when the guitars rise up and roar (as in the head-nodding groove of "New Birds") the disc still retains its sense of quiet intimacy. Aidan Moffat's vocals barely rise above a whisper and only occasionally fall into a melody. Like Charles Bukowski and like the flatly painted nudes on the cover, Arab Strap are unflinchingly frank about drinking and sexing and all the messy parts that go with it. All of the humor, pathos and sadness come from the truth of the telling. All is not dreariness, though; there are times when the music rises up poignantly ("Soaps") and other moments when the lyrics do the same ("Islands"). This disc is not for the faint of heart. It is, however, deeply moving and compelling.
Album Reviews
Rolling Stone (9/3/98, p.104) - 3.5 Stars (out of 5) - "...(they) obsess over the details of their romantic chaos and drunken stupors, setting their disillusionment to beautiful, uncluttered arrangements of guitar, organ and strings....majestic as a steady afternoon rainstorm, and invariably sad..."
Titles on disc 1
1.
Packs Of Three
2.
Soaps
3.
Here We Go
4.
New Birds
5.
One Day After School
6.
Islands
7.
Night Before The Funeral
8.
Not Quite A Yes
9.
Piglet
10.
Afterwards
11.
My Favourite Muse
12.
I Would've Liked Me A Lot Last Night
13.
First Time You're Unfaithful
Ciao
Listed on Ciao since
29/07/2005
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