Arab Strap: "There’s no point getting back together to release mediocrity"

Arab Strap have opened up on their long-awaited return in a new interview, saying that there was “no point getting back together to release mediocrity”.

The Scottish duo, comprised of Aidan Moffat and Malcolm Middleton, teased their comeback last week, revealing they were “back from the grave and ready to rave”. On Monday (September 1), they shared their first new material in 15 years with ‘The Turning Of Our Bones’.

Speaking to The Guardian, the group looked back on going their separate ways in 2006, while hinting at what fans can expect from their future output.

“It’s about making new music with new tools,” Middleton told the outlet. “There’s no point getting back together to release mediocrity.” Moffat added that Arab Strap were “not trying to recapture the 90s” with their new material.

Reflecting on their “fiery” studio sessions prior to their break-up, the group revealed their reunion has been like putting on “a pair of dirty old slippers,” and that they’ve experienced a “zen-like calm and focus” while working on new music.

Arab Strap are now signed to Mogwai‘s Rock Action record label, and will follow up on ‘The Turning Of Our Bones’ with a full album at some point next year.

The band last performed as part of the Iceland Airwaves festival in Reykjavík in November 2017, with Moffat telling a fan after the show that the performance was likely to have been their last ever gig.

The reunion tour followed the band’s initial breakup, which came after the release of their 2005 album ‘The Last Romance’. After the split in 2006, the band then reformed in 2011 for a one-off gig, and then got back together properly in 2016 for a run of festival dates and a remix of their single ‘The First Big Weekend’, titled ‘The First Big Weekend Of 2016’.