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Feb 27, 2024 By Mark Redfern

Scottish duo Arab Strap (Aidan Moffat and Malcolm Middleton) are releasing a new album, I’m totally fine with it don’t give a fuck anymore, on May 10 via Rock Action. Now they have shared its second single, “Allatonceness.” Watch the lyric video below.

Moffat had this to say about “Allatonceness” in a press release: “Lyrically it’s about being addicted to the endless stream of online lunacy and bullshit—constant bad news, disinformation and conspiracy theories, abuse and threats etc.—when I know I should be out engaging with the world in a more physical, meaningful way. But I can’t stop scrolling, because I’ve been conditioned to constantly seek and consume information, which perpetuates the tide of misery and makes me part of the problem ... The title came from Marshall McLuhan’s terrifyingly relevant 1967 book The Medium is the Massage; he also coined the phrase ‘global village,’ and that’s where the ‘village hall’s on fire all day’ line comes from. Long story short: I need to get out more.”

Previously Arab Strap shared the album’s first single, “Bliss,” which was one of our Songs of the Week.

I’m totally fine with it don’t give a fuck anymore is supposed to be written with two yellow thumbs up emojis, one between “it” and “don’t” and another at the end of the title, but for technical reasons we can’t include the emojis on our website.

The album follows their 2021 comeback album, As Days Get Dark, and their 2022 single, “Aphelion.”

As Days Get Dark was Arab Strap’s first album in almost 16 years (stream it here). Also, read our review of the album and our My Firsts interview with Middleton. The album made our Top 100 Albums of 2021 list.

The band’s album before As Days Get Dark was 2005’s The Last Romance. Arab Strap were interviewed in Under the Radar’s very first print issue in 2001, for The Red Thread, an album released the same year.

Arab Strap recently did a tour in honor of the 25th anniversary of their 1998 album Philophobia, but are looking forward to performing the more energetic songs from the new album. “The [Philophobia] tour’s been fun, but I’ll be glad it’s over so we can move on,” says Middleton.

Moffat adds: “The Philophobia gigs have been a way of saying goodbye to the old us. It was a very gentle, quiet tour, so I expect this year we’ll just be playing banger after banger—I think we’ve earned the right to make some noise now.”

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