Relax, there are no Sondheim covers here (alas, no Sleater-Kinney ones either); instead, the second solo outing from Arab Strap's Malcolm Middleton verges on something even more surprising from a member of Scotland's slow-drunk-fuck-folk duo: happiness. Of course, the feeling is mostly superficial, manifesting in jaunty melodies and bright acoustic guitar as Middleton burrs morosely about more-typical Strap fare-- loneliness, insecurity, cursing-- and it doesn't last. Yet Into the Woods shows Middleton's growth since 2003's awkward 5:14 Fluoxytine Seagull Alcohol John Nicotine into a witty, self-effacing, and eager-to-please singer-songwriter.
The troubadour Middleton most resembles is fellow happy-sad Glaswegian Gary Lightbody. "Loneliness Shines" leans on Snow Patrol's gussied-up-MBV noise squalls, while "Choir" picks up Final Straw's search for the hugely, glisteningly anthemic in fragile personal details. Reindeer Section's Jenny Reeve even guests on the catchiest track, "A Happy Medium", an all-grins jolt of jingling dance-floor folktronica. "My face is a disease," Middleton spits out incongruously. It's such bitter lyrics that distance Into the Woods from Lightbody's bands. On "Autumn", Middleton addresses the season as "you fucking cunt" over gloomy piano straight from Gary Jules' rendition of "Mad World"; "Burst Noel" recounts a Christmas spent watching "EastEnders" all alone after getting knifed.
Middleton tends to indulge in songs about songs, which, like reviews about reviews, can be either a crutch or a coup, depending on execution. Splashy opener "Break My Heart" plays this game fairly well with lovelorn pop's eternal catch-22: If the girl doesn't break the singer's heart, she'll ruin his career. It's hard to fault the song's gamely cheerful piano and upbeat tune, and it's easy to envision crowds lapping up its nice-guy sweetness. Amid finger-picking, clouds of distortion, and Celtic strings, "Monday Night Nothing" makes a more pedestrian self-reference, as Middleton confesses, "I don't know how to finish this song"; by the Notwist-esque electro-pop of "Solemn Thirsty", dude's speaking teen-romance-movie: "How do I write a song and give it to the girl?" Then finale "A New Heart" pokes fun at itself and Arab Strap's well-documented profanity by neatly dodging dirty rhymes.
None of this explains Middleton's bear fixation (a number of the species' representatives rear their heads throughout the album), but why quibble? In the ultimate sensitive-singer-songwriter move, Middleton depicts himself as a guy who's just looking for the perfect girl but can't seem to find her.
