Malcolm Middleton- Fight Like The Night.
The third single from Middleton's successful album 'A Brighter Beat' features the wonderfully contrasting vocals of The Reindeer Section's Jenny Reeve- a marvelous recognition of reflective, contemplative songwriting.
In typical Middleton style, the single uses the power of tension, and fearless nature, coinciding this appeal with modern electronic effects and unclear guitar riffs. This album is the third from Middleton as a solo artist, and the first since the split of Arab Strap. It works on the anxiety and dejected tendencies Middleton releases through his lyrics- his self confessed theme of "depression and discontent".
In terms of comparisons, it sounds similar to Arcade Fire material, possibly due to the primary female vocals the single possesses- also akin to The Dears and even The Bravery; mainly due to the chorus effects. The single grabs at you, grows and grows- allowing your own opinion to be created, the deceivingly upbeat melody masks at times the strength of the angst in the lyrics.
Reading books to discover what life means has led Middleton to this conclusion- " Do what the fuck you like as long as you can live with yourself". 'Fight like the Night' encourages one to "Skip into the flames", live life to the full, and not to be scared of anything. He's right you know- this song really makes you consider and reflect- what is the point? He's still got it.