Malcolm Middleton: Sleight of Heart
Malcolm Middleton: Hasn't cheered up much since Christmas.
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In a nutshell.
'What's the point? Let's have a pint and cry' rock
What's it all about?
More of an mini-album, Sleight of Heart picks up some of the saw dust from the magnificent A Brighter Beat. While A Brighter Beat was big sounding, Sleight of Heart returns to the source of the songs and is almost acoustic.
Middleton explained: "I suppose this album is a reaction to the production of A Brighter Beat, which I love, but I felt it was time for something quieter.
"My songs are usually written on a guitar so this way they are closer to the original form."
Originally planned as a covers album, Sleight of Heart also features versions of Madonna's Stay and King Creosote.
Who's it by?
Middleton was half of Scotch miserabilists Arab Strap and has continued his crusade to share his self-doubt, despair and need for a pint. He finished last year on a surprise high as We're All Going To Die made an ill-fated last minute putsch for the Christmas number one.
As an example.
"Love is raining in Glasgow/Love is a lie/Love is for TV and movie stars/Love is songs played on slow guitars/Love is boy-racers and their cars/Love is a lie, I'm a liar." Love Comes in Waves.
"The whole world's going home with blue plastic bags/Six bottles of Stella, Jacob's Creek and twenty fags." - Blue Plastic Bags
What the others say
"Malcolm Middleton unleashes another little gem of an album, this one largely acoustic with some folky violin arrangements... expect a wallow in Middleton's usual emotional gamut, from ambivalence to unequivocal self-flagellation." Scotsman
So is it any good?
Declaration of journalists' interests: I like Malcolm Middleton and Arab Strap and Scottish gloom.
So I was always going to love Sleight of Heart. But personal prejudices aside: this is great. On my copy of Sleight of Heart it says "Promotional Copy Only. Not For Resale". Why would I want to sell the album? It's great.
Everyone should go out, get depressed, buy a copy and feel s**t a bit more. Or in fact you should go out buy Sleight of Heart, A Brighter Beat, six bottles of Stella, Jacob's Creek and 20 fags, then home and enjoy. The next morning when you are feeling s**t, put Sleight of Heart on again and close your eyes.
(After a while the review settles down a bit and tells you things you really want to know.)
Sleight of Heart is a strange little album (33-odd minutes). Only half hearing the lyrics and letting it float in the background, the album could just sound like some acoustic semi-folk. But there is a far deeper gloom. The devil is really in the details; the lyrics are both stirring and funny. Yes, Middleton is stuck in the depths of gloom, but he can see the funny side.
This is solid Middleton territory, but it stands out in its own right, not just an album for obsessive fans and collectors. Sleight of Heart makes me smile, it's fun.
Every number added up/10
Daniel Barnes