Arab Strap Return With Ninth Album 'Half-Told Tales'
Scottish indie duo Arab Strap release their ninth studio album, Half-Told Tales, on Friday, September 4, 2026. The 14-track record is produced by Paul Savage and put out via Rock Action Records. Core members Aidan Moffat (vocals) and Malcolm Middleton (guitar) have been at it for more than three decades, since their 1996 debut single "The First Big Weekend." Far Out Magazine reviewed the album at 4 out of 5, singling out "Dollar Park" as the standout track.
What's on the record
Far Out Magazine describes Half-Told Tales as continuing the duo's familiar bleak, surreal register — a mix of fragile acoustic-guitar textures and post-rock-style wall-of-sound builds, threaded together by Moffat's spoken-word delivery in his Falkirk accent.
Opener "I Want Noise" leads with a brassy indie-rock charge; "Glamour Magick" moves toward a noisier, dancefloor-stomp rhythm; "Gape" leans into a more electronic, nocturnal arrangement.
"Be a Man" takes on online extreme-masculinity discourse — Moffat recounts asking his son whether he knows a particular "manosphere" influencer, and getting back the reply, "Aye, he's a prick!" "Dollar Park," the reviewer's pick, is a love song built from images of mites and bacteria, with lyrics referencing a partner's "Star Wars dress" alongside handcuffs and a safe word.
Thirty years on
Arab Strap formed in the mid-1990s and, following their 2016 reunion, have kept releasing new material — Half-Told Tales is their ninth studio album. Far Out Magazine notes the record holds few surprises, but says the pair's command of sharp, dramatic songwriting remains steady enough to sit alongside their earlier work.
Release details
- Album: Half-Told Tales (ninth studio album, 14 tracks)
- Release date: Friday, September 4, 2026
- Producer: Paul Savage
- Label: Rock Action Records