Philophobia

Arab Strap | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (May 19, 1998)
• Original Release Date: May 19, 1998
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Matador Records
• ASIN: B0000064A1
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  Vinyl  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #203,680 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars "Philophobia" is a masterpiece, June 29, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Philophobia (Audio CD)

This album, "Philophobia" is a classic. Every song has a different melody, but each song carries a different tale of love lost, wild nights, etc.. I am not really familiar with Arab Strap's other work, but I just love how they choose to speak instead of sing, because while listening to this album it feels like you are hearing someone confess, and that is different. The music is beautiful- a low-fi drum machine, an occasional piano, a gentle-strumming guitar- it is just a classic for anyone who enjoys sad, moody music, Morrissey, and even Belle and Sebastian- even though after listening to this, their songs sound like children's songs.

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Take away the belt and shoelaces, October 20, 2000

By 

Brad Lewis (Pittsburgh, PA United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Philophobia (Audio CD)

This is the most dark, depressing, morbid music I've ever heard. God it's beautiful. My only problem is the length, after an hour I feel like throwing myself out of a window. In a good way though. This is not music for dancers, it is for those of us who understand true beauty reveals itself to us while drunk and alone at 3am. Their best album, with no doubt in my mind.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars depressing and blunt, August 11, 2000

By 

chris wildeman (carlisle, pa) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Philophobia (Audio CD)

a very good album, especially if you liked either of their two other full-lengths. listening to arab strap is not fun, although it is probably good for you. the lyrics are harsh, which is refreshing, and they are also very direct, refusing to hedge around anything (also refreshing). the music isn't as interesting as the first album, but they seem to do a better job with the less varied texture that they go for. this is a bit slower on the average than the first album, although there are times where the pace does liven up to a crawl. if you get throught the first few lines of the album (which traumatized me because i had the cd player turned all the way up) then you will be fine. also, the lyrics are written on the inside on the album in story form, so if you like hearing about someone constantly going around in circles, then this album will also provide a nice example of that.