Aidan Moffat has never really forayed into ‘proper’ folk before, but it seems like a natural progression for him. His talent for storytelling has been evident since the early days of Arab Strap; furthermore, his thick Glasgow accent is perfect for auld Scottish ballads, and he nurtures a fondness for collaboration – with Malcolm Middleton, with Bill Wells, and with others – that is very much in the folk tradition.
For these and other reasons, Where You’re Meant to Be sounds like a great idea. Later this month, Aidan will be embarking upon a tour of Scotland with a small clutch of musical mates (including James Graham from The Twilight Sad); free whisky will be provided at each show, and the band will be exploring the roots of Scottish music by re-imagining a variety of age-old folk songs. One such cover is already available to hear – have a listen to Jock McGraw, a soldiering song that’s been updated for the War on Terror generation:
Musically, Jock McGraw skirts the same territory that Moffat covered on How to Get to Heaven from Scotland, the 2009 album that he recorded with his band The Best-Ofs and probably the closest thing to folk in his back catalogue. But where those songs focused, as usual, on very personal matters – love, sex, family, et cetera – Jock McGraw is a far bigger statement. Where the original version’s protagonist was a fearsome man-mountain who wasn’t scared of anything, Moffat’s McGraw is horrified by what he sees in battle, and after leaving the army, he finds himself unable to adjust to normal life again. It’s a far more sobering, saddening song in Aidan Moffat’s hands.
Still, Jock McGraw is only a preview, and the full Where You’re Meant to Be repertoire promises to be far broader. Moffat’s website suggests that there will be “folk sagas, drinking songs, bawdy ballads, bruised laments and more” – it’s set to be a real smorgasbord of Scottishness. If you live north of Hadrian’s Wall, you’d do well to catch one of these shows; the rest of us can take solace in the news that Paul Fegan will be making a film of the Where You’re Meant to Be tour, to be released later this year.
