Arab Strap come to Fife
By Oona Wolseley
Broken Chanter opened for Arab Strap, kicking off the night with a few jokes about it being Freshers' Week, teasing the audience about their average age (a few decades older than the average freshers of 2024), and setting a relaxed tone. Frontman David MacGregor (vocals and guitar) and Charlotte Printer (bass and backing vocals) shared an easy chemistry on stage, clearly enjoying performing together. Their sound—a blend of indie punk and pop—stood out, with MacGregor resisting the music industry's push to erase regional accents or the Scots tongue from music. Reminds me of the classic Proclaimers song ‘Throw the ‘R’away’.
Highlights included ‘Don't Move to Denmark’ from their 2019 album and several tracks from Chorus of Doubt (2024), like ‘The Rain Doesn’t Only Fall on You’, ‘Who’s Asking?’ and “Don’t you think that something needs to be done”. Between songs, MacGregor kept the audience entertained with stories and banter, while Printer’s steady bassline and harmonies added depth to their punchy, pop-infused set. It was a lively and comfortable opening performance and served as a good introduction to the band and a nice opener for Arab Strap to follow.
The stage is empty, the lights dim, and a soundscape begins—like the hum of an airport, the whir of a plane, layered with electronic noise. As the band enters, lit by two solitary blue lights, they start playing, blending with the still-present sound. It feels like an art installation, like men tinkering with noise machines in a basement. Frontman Aidan Moffat strolls on with two ciders in hand and launches straight into song, immediately capturing the audience’s attention. Moffat prowls the stage like a lion testing the limits of his cage, swaying as he delivers “Allatonceness” from their 2024 album I’m Totally Fine with It 👍 Don’t Give a Fuck Anymore 👍.
Switching between a regular microphone and a vocoder-like one, Moffat’s vocals weave through a mix of electronic beats and slow, droning guitar. One of the guitarists trades his guitar for a keyboard, amplifying the electronic indie-rock sound. It's the kind of music you can get lost in, with Moffat’s voice cutting through the atmospheric haze. The performance has echoes of a Nick Cave gig, but if Nick Cave were Scottish and more fed up with the world.
The show is brimming with a blend of anger and the belief that the world is somewhat broken, yet underscored by themes of love, memory, and longing—a kind of happy pessimism about life. Arab Strap’s signature spoken word, delivered in Moffat’s unmistakable Scottish drawl, gives every song a poetic edge, backed by moody, indie-rock soundscapes.
They play "The Turning of Our Bones" from their 2021 album As Days Get Dark, driven by a fantastic bassline. The drummer adds a shaker, and Moffat starts to play on a tiny electric keyboard and synthesiser adding extra texture to the song. Arab Strap brings so many elements to their sound that, in less capable hands, it could easily become chaotic. But instead, they skillfully weave these layers together, creating a mesmerising, hypnotic tapestry of music. This is a band that has performed together over decades, they know how to put on a good show, while still having fun between themselves and the audience.
They close the set with "Turn Off the Light" from I’m Totally Fine with It 👍 Don’t Give a Fuck Anymore 👍, a melancholic yet swelling electronic indie rock track that explores the crushing weight of loneliness and depression, while offering a glimmer of hope in the light of another person. Each band member gradually walks off stage as the song builds, leaving the electronic soundscape from the show's opening to blend into the performance. The audience is left sitting in darkness as the sound grows louder, almost daring them to stay.
Then, just Moffat and Malcolm Middleton return, with Middleton on acoustic guitar, for a poignant rendition of "You're Not There" from the same 2024 album. It's a heartbreaking song about the space that you create for other people in your life and the space left behind when they leave. Finally, the full band returns for one last song, "Soaps" from their 1998 album Philophobia. Moffat tells the crowd, "Last song, old song, a sad song, because I don’t believe in ending a gig happy," prompting a laugh from the audience. The pianist takes centre stage before Moffat begins to sing, delivering the slowest, most introspective track of the night. It was a beautifully sombre finale, steeped in longing, perfectly closing the night on an emotionally raw but impactful note. Moffat's brilliant storytelling and the band’s outstanding performance made for an exceptional, intimate gig at the Byre.
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Setlist
Allatonceness
Bliss
Sociometer Blues
The Turning of Our Bones
Girls of Summer
Hide Your Fires
Summer Season
Compersion pt 1
Infrared
New Birds
Strawberry Moon
Haven’t You Heard
Dreg Queen
The Shy Retirer
Fable of the Urban Fox
Turn Off The Light
You’re Not There
Soaps