Monday at the Hug & Pint

Arab Strap | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (April 22, 2003)
• Original Release Date: April 21, 2003
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Matador Records
• ASIN: B00008OLYU
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  Vinyl  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 3.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #51,356 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

15 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Quiet Scottish Popsters Booze Thier way Through The World, May 22, 2003

By 

Robert P. Levy (st. louis, mo United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Monday at the Hug & Pint (Audio CD)

ARAB STRAP
'MONDAY AT THE HUG & PINT"

It would be bad form to write off Arab Strap as just
another musical export in the so-called Scottish
invasion. Like their cohorts, MOGWAI and BELLE &
SEBASTIAN, they write lyrical, melody charged pop
songs with tongue firmly in cheek. Although the Straps
are a bit more mischievous.

Malcolm Middleton and Aiden Moffat are crafty buggers.
After seven years they are misanthropic storytellers
with no shame. Many of their lyrics center around the

world of relationships, good bad and disastrous. They
also write about drug hazes, glom and Scottish
locales.

They throw it all at you, cellos, bagpipes, distorted
beats, doors slamming and floods of tears. This is
especially true with their new CD, "Monday At The Hug
& Pint." named after a pub in their native Falkirk,
the album melds all of these things into a well
crafted, but sometimes non-contiguous album.

The album attempts to create the pub feeling. You
enter on a euphoria, then you drink, think, drink,
mingle, talk, mingle and drink some more. Somewhere
along the line you're at the barstool being sad and
miserable, but somehow reveling in it all. Arab Strap
have made a record that is lyrically frank. They are
honest and on point. However after a few rounds, they
begin to spiral into sadness and decay as they banter
on about bastards and evil women.

"The Shy Retirer" encapsulates the euphoria. it is a
brilliant beginning to the album. It features a beat
that slashes calmly along, melded with great hooks and
lyrics. "Meanwhile At The Bar, A drunkard Muses," is
tinged with darkness. It has dark lyrics and weeping
melodies as a backdrop."There are rules to follow,
just a big black gaping hollow." That about sums up
the dreariness here. "Loch Leven" is introduced by a
nicely distorted bagpipe solo. the song itself is a
homage to the Loch in Falkirk draped in the hopes and
aspirations of dealing with somebody. "Flirt" is also
one of the album's best moments.

Arab Strap are not for everyone. You do not necessarily need h to be down on your luck to really appreciate them. But they tend to wallow in sadness. However, when they break out of it, it is
joyous. "Hug & Pint," offers sentimentality, irony,
melancholy and hope amidst all of its muddled sounds
and diverse melodies.

Arab Strap never craft the same song twice. They
have made another record with no rules or boundaries.
They are captivating because they dont care. they are
relevent because they simply wear emotions on their
sleeves. Stylistically they have always been all over
the place. this is OK though because they craft
exhilarating pop. They devise great songs out of
twisted lives and bitterness.

This is a drunken record. Driven by the primal sadness
that makes one drink. This is a trip to the pub that
expounds, but offers no solutions. This is great music
for going off the rails.

This also is a record that is honest, genuine and
real. Arab Strap are heartfelt songsters with an
uncanny knack for making great hooks. This most
evident with "Glue" and "Act Of War," two really solid
tracks that, along with "The Shy Retirer" may be the
best on the record.

Arab Strap are not on the commercial radar of popular
music. Arab Strap have perfected the art of balladeering. Meaning they tell great storeis of the world. On this album, most of these stories are tinged with loss, sadness despair and sorrow. Their booze infested lyrics embrace honesty. But if you want an album about meeting people, being drunk, finding yourself and sussing out the
whole mess, this is for you.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Monday nights are always a bit blah, November 10, 2004

By 

Ryan Scott "Ryan" (Fitchburg, MA United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Monday at the Hug & Pint (Audio CD)

I do love Arab starp, I really do. However I find this album starts off a bit too well (if that's even possible) and hits a semi decent stride throughout the rest of the disc.

We open up with "The Shy Retirer". A dancey and upbeat yet mellancholly folk/dance song that will get you moving in no time, however it seems like within five minutes the party is over and it's time to get back to drinking yourself into a mess.

Really, I wouldn't say what comes after the opening track is bad, per-se, quite the opposite, it really shines as just good material, however this choice in progression just leaves me confused.

However there are the shinning gems amongst the rough rocks we call tracks you just have to look for them.

Overall it's a nice CD/LP but it feels more like one of those gifts where you just have to say "Well, it's the thought that counts."

And here it is the thought that counts, and the general motions are there however there is just a little something lacking that would make this a great Arab Strap release.

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Good for your pint's companion, but..., April 1, 2004

By 

Takis Tz. (InYourHead) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Monday at the Hug & Pint (Audio CD)

If you're apt for really discovering this largely unnoticed but great band it's best not to start here. This is by no means a bad album but Arab Strap have offered better things in the -not so distant- past.

This band have made their underground name by being masteful in expressing their weirdo melancholy through stories of everyday sadness and through very distinct melodies which range from low-fi to experimental rock. Overall, this is a seriously idiosyncratic band, and this whimsiness of theirs has brought forth a few gorgeously moody albums previously.

What's missing then is first of all the bizzarity in the music which comes across rather flat and non-distinguishable compared to what this band is capable of.

Still, if this album is your first point of contact with Arab Strap you might find this LP very worthwhile and pleasant. Pleasant i said? That's the problem. Arab Strap aren't that good when they are "pleasant", even if that means -in this case- more accesible. This however, should in no way discourage you from checking them out as it's obvious that i'm speaking from a -positively- biased point of view.

An added pointer: Arab Strap come under the Chemical Underground label, a label with some very intriguing bands on their roster (usually rock bands with a tendency to experiment). Check out their stuff as well, but other than that be sure to listen to earlier Arab Strap LPs especially the one previous to "Monday at the Hug and Pint"...