Released to coincide with their 20th anniversary - not to mention October’s feverishly anticipated reunion shows - this new collection from legendary Falkirk duo Arab Strap celebrates with “20 songs for 20 years.”

Reflecting on a career as influential as it was controversial, the compilation highlights an extraordinary output that staunchly refused to conform to expectation. From the string-led sashay of Shy Retirer to the piano-driven noir of Love Detective; the lo-fi crunch of The Clearing to the spartan electronica of Rocket, Take Your Turn, Arab Strap were a fearless and resolutely original proposition from the minute the band regaled us all with tales of their First Big Weekend back in 1996.

“We chose 20 songs - one for each year since we started - and decided to split them into two lots of 10,” says vocalist Aidan Moffat. “The first disc’s a kind of best-of, but we just stuck to the more electronic stuff for this - there’s so many different sounds going on in Arab Strap albums, so we wanted to make it a more coherent whole.

“The second disc’s filled with rarities from EPs and B-sides and out-takes and stuff, so there’s some louder rock stuff on there. I think all of these songs could’ve been on the albums they were recorded for, but sometimes you’re trying to tell a story and they just don’t fit. This disc is more live drums and rock-y too, so anyone looking for the noise should hopefully be satisfied.”

Vinyl LP.

2LP.

180g vinyl.

Includes download.

Tracklist:

LP1:

1. The First Big Weekend

2. Love Detective

3. Cherubs

4. (Afternoon) Soaps

5. Here We Go

6. Rocket, Take Your Turn

7. The Clearing (Single Version)

8. Don't Ask Me to Dance

9. The Shy Retirer

10. Turbulence

LP2:

1. The New Saturday

2. We Know Where You Live

3. Where We've Left Our Love

4. To All a Good Night

5. Dead Air

6. Daughters of Darkness

7. I Still Miss You

8. Toy Fights

9. Blackness

10. Mustard

Barcode: 5024545759419

Catalogue Number: CHEM244

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