Monday 15 March 2010

Today's desert island disc: Aidan John Moffatt's I Can Hear Your Heart

Aidan Moffatt was part of Arab Strap, a scuzzy Glasgow band which mixed pop tunes with self-loathing to (occasionally) winning effect (and named after a 'sex aid'). The other guy, Malcolm Middleton, has a solo career based on death, mortality and self-hatred dressed up in catchy tunes. Moffatt's first solo album is, well, odd and Definitely Not Safe For Work. Essentially, it's the Sex Trainspotting with pretty 60s-inflected tunes: Moffatt's attempt to make sure that not a single track will every be played on any radio station  ever, despite the swooping strings, Sinatra-esque piano and soothing accent (Some Chilean Woman will love it).

If sex isn't something you find shameful (I gather such people exist, though not in my cultural milieu) you'll probably tire of the torrent of vernacular terms for anatomical features - but it's a compelling piece of work by someone who comes across as a leading misanthropist. Should this be playing in a paramour's flat, don't expect roses to feature in your relationship very much. See also Pulp's 'This Is Hardcore'.

These live versions are stripped down, but still representative. I particularly love his return to Grease:



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