Arab Strap presents an ode to excess & debauchery! | new album 'As Days Get Dark' March 5th

“It's about hopelessness and darkness,” says Aidan Moffat. “But in a fun way.” The Arab Strap frontman is speaking about the band’s 7th studio album and their first for 16 years.

With new single 'Here Comes Comus!' an ode to the debauched night out that Aidan is missing in current times: "It's a song about the god of nocturnal excess and my inability to ever refuse him. It takes place in a pub, a club, and city alleyways, all the places I'd hoped we'd be able to enjoy again by now – but it's been so long since I've had a big night out that listening to it now seems almost nostalgic. He still pops round to see me at home now and again, but I know he's holding back and planning for the future, and one day soon we'll dance again."

The single release is accompanied by a rather dark video, that is not for the faint of heart, directed by Bryan M. Ferguson: "When I first heard Aidan’s lyrics on the track, my mind was quickly flung into a murky pit of complete debauchery and I really wanted the video to be a story of excess to match not just the lyrics but the whole mythology of Comus being the rebellious god of festivity who pretty much represents anarchy and chaos.” He adds: “I felt the video needed to explore these themes of overindulgence much like the protagonist. I wanted to make the viewer feel dirty and maybe even disgusted at their own enjoyment of the imagery."

Across the 11 tracks of As Days Get Dark, the band have tapped into their core sonic foundations and what made so many people fall for them but also stretched it out into new terrain. “It's definitely Arab Strap, but an older and wiser one, and quite probably a better one,” states Moffat. “We've had enough distance from our earlier work to reappraise and dissect the good and bad elements of what we did,” reveals Malclolm Middleton. “Not many bands get to do this, so it's great to split up.” Whilst Moffat jokingly says “we're still doing what we always do: Malcolm gives me some guitar parts then I’ll fuck about with them and put some drum machines and words over the top”.

As Days Gets Dark is a record that manages to feel like both evolution and revolution: a continuation of what has come before but also a bold leap into the future and as Middleton concludes, “There's no point getting back together to release mediocrity.”

Pre-order: http://hyperurl.co/AsDaysGetDark