After a decade of penning intensely sombre, abrasive slow-core tunes as part of Scottish miserablists Arab Strap, Malcolm Middleton’s foray into acoustic, accessible melancholia has surprised few.
What was perhaps a little less expected is that one of his more ardent celebrity fans is none other than Kelly Osbourne, who was so moved by Middleton’s sophomore album, Into The Woods, that she promptly labeled him “the Scottish Conor Oberst”.
Ever the master of understatement, Middleton remains largely nonplussed by this.
“I have no idea how it happened,” he says of the unlikely endorsement. “I think she was reviewing singles for a radio station, heard it and just started going on about it. My label thought this was amazing, so they started making more of it than it actually was.
“It’s quite funny. I guess I was whelmed – neither overwhelmed nor underwhelmed. Still, I’m a big fan of her father. Maybe he’ll get to hear it!”
Into The Woods cruises with an enviable energy and muted magnificence, thanks in no small part to collaborations from Mogwai’s Stuart Braithwaite and Barry Burns of Reindeer Section and Delgados fame.
By his own admission, Middleton is fortunate to have the ear of some of the Scottish scene’s most luminous figureheads.
“I’m lucky that I live close to them all and we’ve been friends for years,” he concedes. “If I get stuck doing something myself I can always give someone a phone. This time round, I had 70% of the album done when I got to the point where I was stuck.”
Also on hand for collaborative purposes was Middleton’s fellow Arab Strapper, Aidan Moffat. Following a decade of working closely in tandem, surely it’s difficult to disassociate oneself from this writing dynamic?
“Yeah," he reflects. "Arab Strap was about the chemistry between myself and Aidan, ‘cos he did the lyrics and I did the tunes and we produced the songs.”
Arab Strap are still very much an ongoing entity, he insists.
“Before we release our sixth Arab Strap album, it’s good to do my own thing, as this record is my expression as opposed to a collaboration.”
Solo projects give the duo a chance to stretch themselves as songwriters, he says.
“He’s done solo records (using the moniker Lucky Pierre) and I handle guitar on those. It just means we don’t have to pay each other money to play! On his solo stuff, he’ll tell me what to do, I’ll do the same. With Arab Strap it’s more of a struggle.”
Having grown in confidence since the release of his debut 5:14 Fluoxytine Seagull Alcohol John Nicotine, Middleton was not so much apprehensive as anticipatory about the release of Into The Woods.
If anything, working on a less forlorn, introspective body of work means that his family can finally digest one of his records.
“I’d like the album to do well, but to me it was a success before it came out because my friends and family enjoyed it,” he maintains. “Because she doesn’t really listen to the Arab Strap records, my mother could finally listen to my stuff for the first time!”