Malcolm Middleton - Waxing Gibbous

Waxing Gibbous is the fifth solo album from former Arab Strap member, Malcolm Middleton. Described in his own press release as “a very self-aware record, which is hard if you’re aware that what you’re doing may not be any good,” it’s safe to assume that this is a man with a very Scottish sense of self-deprecation and impishness. Indeed, a couple of years ago, he tried to sabotage the Christmas pop charts in Britain by releasing a single called We’re All Going To Die.

The album opens in decidedly upbeat fashion, with the epic Red Travelling Socks - which sounds vaguely like Springsteen covering The Lemonheads - followed by the rumbling Kiss At The Station. Next, Middleton’s storytelling excels with the ruminative spoken word section of the delicate Carry Me. Throughout the record, observations of his failures are brilliantly delivered, with the wryness of Morrissey but in a more understated way. Regardless of whether the songs are jaunty, downbeat, or just a bit odd (like when Zero breaks down into an 80s-style rap), Waxing Gibbous is a thoughtful and interesting listen (with a delicious cover of Ladyhawke's My Delirium being an unexpected bonus). Its high point is Ballad of Fuck All which, as well as havng an awesome title, plays like a Leonard Cohen composition, with Middleton’s pleasingly dour Scottish delivery backed up by gentle female vocals over acoustic guitars.

Paradoxically sad and uplifting, this is an intelligent, fragile and really lovely record that finds beauty in the bleakest places. Like Leonard Cohen himself once said, there is a crack in everything, that’s how the light gets in.