The return of the miserablist!

Malcolm Middleton – Waxing Gibbous

You’ve got to hand it to ol’ Malky, at least he’s consistent with his world outlook. Always searching those introspective depths, always questioning the futility of life and love, and always, well, rather miserable. “We’re all listening, to downbeat shite” as he so eloquently put it on the excellent ‘Blue Plastic Bags’ from previous album, Sleight Of Heart. This follow up however, shares more in common musically with the big smash that was A Brighter Beat. A return to the bombastic electric arrangements of said record and the addition of far more electronic bleepery and epic vocal harmonies give Waxing Gibbous a grand, magnum opus feel. It won’t be considered ground breaking, but it certainly sounds like Middleton is throwing everything at this record, and considering his plans to semi-retire from solo work for a while, it makes sense.

Opener ‘Red Travellin’ Socks’ sums up this vibe, all thundering guitars and soaring chorus harmonies broken up by slow building verses. Small wonder Middleton has deemed it his Bohemian Rhapsody. ‘Kiss At The Station’ starts off in a familiar musical vein before a startling second half with some, dare I say it, funky beats and a call-and-response moment with what sounds like Fence records boys King Creosote and the Pictish Trail. ‘Carry Me’ could almost be confused for an Aidan Moffat solo track, considering the long spoken word segment regarding, how did you guess, utter despair. All that’s missing is the gratuitous ribaldry. ‘Box & Knife’ is a fantastic combination of Middleton’s acoustic guitar virtuosity and drum machine robotics, while ‘Made Up Your Mind’ is one of those fragile, yearning numbers that he does so well.

It’s the sheer scale of this album that lives long in the memory however, in both its length and grandiosity. The successful combination of the more extravagant arrangements with his gift for gently insistent guitar melodies and that famed melancholy is what makes Gibbous arguably his peak solo record. Although not as instant as A Brighter Beat, and missing something with the ability to catch national attention as much as ‘We’re All Going To Die’, Gibbous is one of those delightful growing records perfect for singing along to whilst getting pissed on cheap cider with good pals. Of that I’m sure Malcolm would approve.

FW