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10.0
123869
10.0 |
The Arts Desk
What lingers of the album is not its horrors, but its humanity – reflected, after all, in even the debauched temptations of the god of nighttime revels
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9.0
123873
9.0 |
PopMatters
A comeback that not only beats expectations but has an excellent claim to be the band's crowning achievement
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9.0
123878
9.0 |
musicOMH
As Days Get Dark is a remarkable return, a new Arab Strap that updates, deepens and re-energises their sound
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9.0
123913
9.0 |
Clash
Arab Strap are back with a vengeance. And it’s fucking glorious
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9.0
123904
9.0 |
God Is In The TV
A brilliant, complex return
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9.0
123973
9.0 |
Spectrum Culture
Scotland’s greatest exporters of sadcore return after a 16-year break-up with an irresistibly strong and delightfully maudlin comeback album that stands tall as one of their greatest works yet
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8.1
123958
8.1 |
Beats Per Minute
The pair have kept busy in the intervening years since the last Arab Strap album, but they sound so comfortable together on As Days get Dark that the album is an endorsement for reunions only occurring when there is true renewal of purpose and vision
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8.0
123967
8.0 |
Pitchfork
On their first album in 16 years, the Scottish duo situates themselves in the current moment, teasing out new modes of songwriting while remaining as wry, dark, and self-lacerating as ever.
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8.0
123905
8.0 |
Under The Radar
Carries on their traditions of intimate ambience and tug-of-war technique, but commendably, it doesn’t seek to summarize so much as add to their inimitable story
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8.0
123917
8.0 |
The Observer
The caustic duo forge existential stories from tinny beats on their first album in 16 years
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8.0
123883
8.0 |
NME
After 16 years away, Aidan Moffat and Malcolm Middleton have returned with a record that's dark, debauched, tragic – and strangely beautiful
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8.0
123884
8.0 |
DIY
The vivid, often lurid portraits Aidan Moffat paints of the society around him feel more vital than eve
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8.0
123888
8.0 |
Gigwise
Oozing in electronic misery, Arab Strap are back
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8.0
123871
8.0 |
Mojo
The hair-raising honesty of their younger incarnation might have softened, but their new confidence and control ensure theses songs let a lot of life in. Print edition only
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8.0
123872
8.0 |
Uncut
A comeback album that feels vital rather than forced. Print edition only
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8.0
123864
8.0 |
Exclaim
For a band as hardboiled as Arab Strap, As Days Get Dark is nonetheless a love letter to the brave, ambitious nature the band has built their audience upon. The swings are bigger, the misses are broader, the hits are even more rewarding — for Arab Strap, there's no other reasonable way to approach it
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8.0
123865
8.0 |
Record Collector
Throughout, the mix of DIY beats and ever-quotable lyrics suggests a distant kinship with Sleaford Mods’ profane pound-shop poetics
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8.0
124013
8.0 |
The Quietus
I’d be lying if I said As Days Get Dark is entirely enjoyable in the traditional sense or an easy listen, but it’s absolutely an essential one. Arab Strap may sound older than ever, but they're putting that age to good use
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7.0
124024
7.0 |
Northern Transmissions
It’s not always an easy listen but a rewarding one for anyone lured in by the prospect of “hopelessness and darkness but in a fun way”
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7.0
123868
7.0 |
Loud And Quiet
Most of the music is built upon an artful tessellation of Middleton’s arpeggiating guitars and creeping drum machines, with Moffat delivering his grubby monologues over the top
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7.0
123934
7.0 |
XS Noize
Despite some sonic miscues, such as the programmed drums and occasionally tedious guitar, Arab Strap delivers a well-accomplished album that sees Moffet engage with the themes in some of his wittiest lyrics
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7.0
123939
7.0 |
Vinyl Chapters
Musically, some of the songs in As Days Get Dark do occasionally risk blurring into one another, but the lyrics stand out enough to make up for it
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6.0
123866
6.0 |
The Skinny
An album of strong moments and passages that unfortunately often disappear far too quickly
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6.0
123985
6.0 |
The FT
The Scottish duo deliver a new set of nocturnes rich with revelry and allegory
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