According to NME, Arab Strap is marking 30 years together as they continue to create something new. The Scottish duo has officially announced their ninth studio album, Half-Told Tales, arriving on September 4 through Rock Action Records, while also sharing its first single, “You You You.” Leading the new album is “You You You,” a track that carries the emotional complexity and sharp perspective listeners have long associated with Arab Strap. The band has described the song as “disco-metal,” an unusual combination that immediately suggests something unexpected. There is an energetic pulse running through it, but underneath that movement is a heavier emotional weight, creating a contrast between something you can move to and something that asks you to sit with uncomfortable thoughts.

The song deals with the realities of living in difficult times and the pressure that can come with constantly absorbing the world around us. Aidan Moffat explained that the track came from wanting to remind people that, despite everything happening around them, not everyone is terrible. The song touches on concerns many people experience such as financial struggles, physical and mental health issues and the overwhelming feeling that comes from living in a world filled with nonstop information and uncertainty. But instead of leaving listeners in a place of hopelessness, the song appears to reach toward connection.

The announcement also arrives as an important milestone for the band. Thirty years after their debut, Arab Strap could easily rely on nostalgia, but Half-Told Tales does not seem interested in doing that. If “You You You” is any indication of what is ahead, the album looks ready to continue the band’s tradition of being honest, strange and thoughtful.

 

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Half-Told Tales Tracklist

01 I Get Noise

02 You You You

03 Be a Man

04 Fighting For You

05 Glamour Magick

06 Gape

07 Under Offer

08 Basic Physics

09 Sunsong

10 Dollar Park

11 Mr. Splitfoot

12 Ampersand

13 Fragments

14 Beats Per Minute