Sage Gateshead

With a new album about halfway ready for release next year, we thought we could easily ignore our second album’s 25th birthday. But we find it hard to say no to Philophobia…

If our first album was a ramshackle oddity filled with in-jokes and formerly private tape moments that we never expected to bother many ears, it was Philophobia where everything started to come together, when we began to realise making music might have a future for us, and the Arab Strap sounds and themes began to take shape. It’s probably the only album we’d ever consider performing all the way through.

But, with our new forward-facing philosophy and 8th album on the way, we didn’t want to make too big a deal of it. But, as we say, it’s hard to say no to Philophobia, and we couldn’t just let its 25th birthday shuffle by unmarked … so we’ve decided to celebrate it after all, but quietly. The Philophobia Undressed tour will feature the album in full, but performed by just the two of us – Malcolm & Aidan with a guitar or two, some drum machines and probably a digital Mellotron – as we sing our old songs about being young, in intimate surroundings and, in some cases, visiting towns we haven’t played in a long, long time.

Hopefully you can join us at one of our gentle soirées in celebration of Philophobia’s quarter century. We’ll probably play some new songs too.

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