YOU AND I BY MALCOLM MIDDLETON
He ought to be some sort of national treasure, but one suspects that he'd not welcome such an accolade. Nevertheless, he remains one of the most under-rated artists these isles have produced.
After two albums under the moniker Human Don't Be Angry and a collaboration with performance artist David Shrigley (among whose works is the outstanding Kingsley, the Partick Thistle mascot) comes a 'proper' LP by and under his own name. That makes it six by our count.
Glasgow producer Miaoux Miaoux has been involved in this one and the first track to be released from it, You And I, gives hints of a more electro-pop direction, a la Saint Etienne for example. Whether this is indicative of the album as a whole, we can but speculate. If it is, it certainly represents the most commercial he's been for quite some time - perhaps even since Arab Strap. Not that this is a bad thing. Despite the poppier melodies, the writing retains the bittersweet, melancholy elements we know Middleton for. "I can't stay in because it's Glasgow and the sun is shining. Doesn't happen much, best get it while you can".
The album Summer Of '13 is out in May. You can get your early order in on iTunes now. There are live dates in support of it too. For all that and more, @m_middleton_uk isn't a bad place to start.