{"id":2424922,"date":"2026-05-20T15:31:59","date_gmt":"2026-05-20T15:31:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/?p=2424922"},"modified":"2026-05-20T15:31:59","modified_gmt":"2026-05-20T15:31:59","slug":"arab-strap-announce-new-album-half-told-tales-examine-troubles-and-tumultuous-times-on-disco-metal-single-you-you-you","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/arab-strap-announce-new-album-half-told-tales-examine-troubles-and-tumultuous-times-on-disco-metal-single-you-you-you\/","title":{"rendered":"Arab Strap announce new album &#8216;Half-Told Tales&#8217;, examine &#8220;troubles and tumultuous times&#8221; on &#8220;disco-metal&#8221; single &#8216;You You You\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><\/p>\n<div>\n<p><a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nme.com\/artists\/arab-strap\">Arab Strap<\/a> have announced a new album, \u2018Half-Told Tales\u2019 and dropped the \u201cdisco-metal\u201d lead single, \u2018You You You\u2019. Check it out below.<\/p>\n<p>The new record is set for release on September 4 via Rock Action Records, and arrives nearly three decades to the day since the duo dropped their first single.<\/p>\n<p>A first preview of the new album arrives today (Wednesday May 20) in the form of \u2018You You You\u2019 \u2013 a track that Aidan Moffat and Malcolm Middleton describe as having a \u201cdisco-metal\u201d sound and lyrics that explore overcoming \u201ctroubles and tumultuous times\u201d.<\/p>\n<p>Emerging with a pulsating beat, the single blends together moments of electronica, an infectious melody, swirling guitars and the effortlessly cool vocals of Moffat.<\/p>\n<p>\u201c<em>I\u2019ve got a hole in my shoe that lets in rain\/ and another new lump in another vein\/ I\u2019ve got pills for breakfast every day\/ to keep my pains and fears at bay<\/em>,\u201d he sings in the retro-sounding opening verse, leading up to the hypnotic chorus.<\/p>\n<p>\u201c<em>I\u2019ve got a portly paunch I just can\u2019t shift\/I feel undesired, dismissed, adrift\/ My get-up-and-go is long gone\/ and the days keep dragging on\/ But I\u2019ve got you, you, you, you<\/em>.\u201d<\/p>\n<div class=\"jeg_video_container jeg_video_content\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Arab Strap - You You You (official video)\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/1VeBhMvzdKA?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/div>\n<p>\u201cWe\u2019re 30 years old this year, so we decided to celebrate by doing what we enjoy most: by making new music,\u201d the duo shared, describing the song as a \u201cdisco-metal incantation\u201d that carries the message of \u201cfuture felicity and fellowship that \u2013 fingers crossed \u2013 might make you dance and giggle too.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Of the lyrics, Moffat said: \u201c\u2018You You You\u2019 is an attempt to remind ourselves, and hopefully others, that the world\u2019s not full of awful people. That there are millions of us out there dealing with the same worries every day: from the rising costs of absolutely everything, our mental and physical health, the constant slaughter and tyranny in our newsfeeds, to playing an unwitting part in the military-industrial complex, and the endless warping of reality.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt can often feel like a complete absence of human decency \u2013 it\u2019s no wonder that despondency can feel like our default disposition.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The themes in the song and the push-pull dynamic it has throughout are reminiscent of what can be found in the full album \u2013 where fluid, grooving beats balance alongside punchy guitars.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe excitement comes because me and Aidan like and hate different things,\u201d Middleton explained. \u201cThere are things in the record that individually we might not choose but that\u2019s why I like this album so much, because it\u2019s not the one I wanted to make.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI don\u2019t think it\u2019s what Aidan wanted to make either, it\u2019s this bit in the middle. It might not be 100 per cent what we want but it\u2019s good for the band, and it works.\u201d <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/arabstrap.os.fan\/halftoldtales\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Visit here<\/a> to pre-order the record.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"instagram-media\" data-instgrm-captioned=\"\" data-instgrm-permalink=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/p\/DYjf4DQiOOh\/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading\" data-instgrm-version=\"14\" style=\" background:#FFF; border:0; border-radius:3px; box-shadow:0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15); margin: 1px; max-width:658px; min-width:326px; padding:0; width:99.375%; width:-webkit-calc(100% - 2px); width:calc(100% - 2px);\">\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>As well as announcing new music, Arab Strap have also confirmed a UK and European tour, set to kick off later this year with a show in Dublin on October 12.<\/p>\n<p>From there, five UK shows are lined-up, taking place in Manchester, London, Leeds, Stockton and Glasgow throughout the rest of the month, before European shows kick off in Prague on November 22.<\/p>\n<p><a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/ticketmaster-uk.tm7559.net\/c\/2862475\/431519\/7559?sharedid=NME&amp;u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.ticketmaster.co.uk%2Farab-strap-tickets%2Fartist%2F783821\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Visit here<\/a> for tickets.<\/p>\n<h3><strong>Arab Strap 2026 tour dates are:<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p><strong>OCTOBER<\/strong><br \/><strong>12 \u2013 Whelan\u2019s, Dublin IE<\/strong><br \/><strong>12 \u2013 Band on the Wall, Manchester UK<\/strong><br \/><strong>14 \u2013 Heaven, London UK<\/strong><br \/><strong>15 \u2013 Howard Assembly Rooms, Leeds UK<\/strong><br \/><strong>16 \u2013 Georgian Theatre, Stockton UK<\/strong><br \/><strong>17 \u2013 Barrowland, Glasgow UK<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>NOVEMBER<\/strong><br \/><strong>22 \u2013 MeetFactory, Prague CZ<\/strong><br \/><strong>23 \u2013 a83, Budapest HU<\/strong><br \/><strong>24 \u2013 Vintage Industrial Bar, Zagreb HR<\/strong><br \/><strong>25 \u2013 Zappa Bazza, Belgrade RS<\/strong><br \/><strong>26 \u2013 Control Club, Bucharest RO<\/strong><br \/><strong>27 \u2013 Zorlu, Istanbul TR<\/strong><br \/><strong>28 \u2013 Eightball Club, Thessaloniki GR<\/strong><br \/><strong>29 \u2013 Gazarta Soundstage, Athens GR<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>DECEMBER<\/strong><br \/><strong>13 \u2013 Parma Barezzi Festival, Parma IT<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>The new music from Arab Strap is their first since they dropped the album<a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nme.com\/news\/music\/arab-strap-share-bliss-and-announce-new-album-im-totally-fine-with-it-%f0%9f%91%8d-dont-give-a-fuck-anymore-%f0%9f%91%8d-3576278\"> \u2018I\u2019m totally fine with it \ud83d\udc4d don\u2019t give a fuck anymore \ud83d\udc4d\u2019<\/a> in 2024.<\/p>\n<p>The title of that record came from a text sent to the band by their live drummer, and that was their first album since the duo returned in 2021 after 16 years away with comeback album <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nme.com\/reviews\/album\/arab-strap-as-days-get-dark-review-2893028\">\u2018As Days Get Dark\u2019<\/a> \u2013 which went on to be <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nme.com\/news\/music\/mogwai-biffy-clyro-arab-strap-and-more-all-up-for-scotlands-say-award-2021-3048640\">nominated for the SAY (Scottish Album Of The Year) Award<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><script>\n  !function(f,b,e,v,n,t,s)\n  {if(f.fbq)return;n=f.fbq=function(){n.callMethod?\n  n.callMethod.apply(n,arguments):n.queue.push(arguments)};\n  if(!f._fbq)f._fbq=n;n.push=n;n.loaded=!0;n.version='2.0';\n  n.queue=[];t=b.createElement(e);t.async=!0;\n  t.src=v;s=b.getElementsByTagName(e)[0];\n  s.parentNode.insertBefore(t,s)}(window, document,'script',\n  'https:\/\/connect.facebook.net\/en_US\/fbevents.js');\n  fbq('consent', 'revoke');\n  fbq('init', '370979561341328');\n  fbq('track', 'PageView');\n<\/script><script async src=\"\/\/www.instagram.com\/embed.js\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p><em> \u2018 The preceding article may include information circulated by third parties \u2019 <\/em><\/p>\n<p><em> \u2018 Some details of this article were extracted from the following source www.nme.com \u2019 <\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Arab Strap have announced a new album, \u2018Half-Told Tales\u2019 and dropped the \u201cdisco-metal\u201d lead single, \u2018You You You\u2019. Check it out below. The new record is set for release on September 4 via Rock Action Records, and arrives nearly three decades to the day since the duo dropped their first single. A first preview of [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":2424925,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"jnews-multi-image_gallery":[],"jnews_single_post":[],"jnews_primary_category":[],"jnews_social_meta":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[25179],"tags":[21934,21935,344729],"class_list":["post-2424922","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-music","tag-alternative","tag-indie","tag-live-music-news"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/Arab-Strap-announce-new-album-Half-Told-Tales-examine-troubles-and.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2424922","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2424922"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2424922\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2424927,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2424922\/revisions\/2424927"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2424925"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2424922"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2424922"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2424922"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}