Arab Strap Announce New Album ‘Half Told Tales’ Alongside Single “You You You”

Arab Strap have announced their ninth album, Half Told Tales , which will be out September 4 vi Rock Action. “We’re thirty years old this year,” say Aidan Moffat and Malcolm Middleton, “So we decided to celebrate by doing what we enjoy most: by making new music.”

“The excitement comes because me and Aidan like and hate different things,” says Middleton. “There are things in the record that individually we might not choose but that’s why I like this album so much, because it’s not the one I wanted to make. I don’t think it’s what Aidan wanted to make either, it’s this bit in the middle. It might not be 100% what we want but it’s good for the band, and it works.”

The first single definitely works: “You You You” is a “RESIST” protest anthem disguised as a love song and set to an Italo disco beat and impressive fretwork from Middleton. It gets more fiery as it goes and here’s the last verse where the intentions are made very clear:

> And if you’re streaming this song on Spotify, then we both fund weapons-grade AI. But if it wasn’t here, then how would you hear it? We’re over a barrel, but we don’t have to cheer it. I DON’T KNOW WHAT THE FUCK TO DO when hypocrisy reigns and nothing is true, and nobody pays for abhorrent behaviour – FUCK THESE DEMAGOGUES COSPLAYING SAVIOURS

“‘You You You’ is an attempt to remind ourselves, and hopefully others, that the world’s not full of awful people,” says Moffat. “That there are millions of us out there dealing with the same worries every day: from the rising costs of absolutely everything, our mental and physical health, the constant slaughter and tyranny in our newsfeeds, to playing an unwitting part in the military-industrial complex, and the endless warping of reality. It can often feel like a complete absence of human decency – it’s no wonder that despondency can feel like our default disposition.” He adds, “It was designed as a kind of invocation. To bring forth the stubbornly elusive spirits of hope and solidarity.”

The video, directed by Luke Bovill, is fantastic too and you can watch that below.

Arab Strap have also announced UK/EU fall tour dates and these are listed below.

Half Told Tales

I Get Noise

You You You

Be a Man

Fighting For You

Glamour Magick

Gape

Under Offer

Basic Physics

Sunsong

Dollar Park

Mr. Splitfoot

Ampersand

Fragments

Beats Per Minute

Arab Strap – 2026 Tour Dates

Mon 12 Oct 2026 – Whelan’s, Dublin IE

Tue 13 Oct 2026 – Band on the Wall, Manchester UK

Wed 14 Oct 2026 – Heaven, London UK

Thu 15 Oct 2026 – Howard Assembly Rooms, Leeds UK

Fri 16 Oct 2026 – Georgian Theatre, Stockton UK

Sat 17 Oct 2026 – Barrowland, Glasgow UK

Sun 22 Nov 2026 – MeetFactory, Prague CZ

Mon 23 Nov 2026 – a83, Budapest HU

Tue 24 Nov 2026 – Vintage Industrial Bar, Zagreb HR

Wed 25 Nov 2026 – Zappa Bazza, Belgrade RS

Thu 26 Nov 2026 – Control Club, Bucharest RO

Fri 27 Nov 2026 – Zorlu, Istanbul TR

Sat 28 Nov 2026 – Eightball Club, Thessaloniki GR

Sun 29 Nov 2026 – Gazarta Soundstage, Athens GR

Sun 13 Dec 2026 – Parma Barezzi Festival, Parma IT

_Originally reported by [Brooklyn Vegan](https://www.brooklynvegan.com/arab-strap-announce-new-album-share-fiery-danceable-brilliant-you-you-you/)._