by LORRAINE CARPENTER

A sampling of Arab Strap lyrics: "She used to wank me off but I could never heat her up and she used to tell all her friends that I beat her up."

"Just shut the fuck up and tell me bit by bit, 'cause all I can see is his hand grabbing a tit."

"It was the biggest cock you'd ever seen, but you've no idea where that cock has been."

Like the great Scottish poets of old, Arab Strap's Aidan Moffat writes from inside. Bodily fluids, failure, jealousy, booze and "birds" are his muses, while Malcolm Middleton's music is a largely minimal, mood-driven fusion of acoustic and electronic sounds. But the band's fifth and latest album, Monday at the Hug & Pint, sees the arrival of two new band members, violinist Stacey Sievwright and cellist Jenny Reeve, who sweeten the pot with orchestral textures while Moffat lightens the lyrical burden. Slightly. In the middle of their tour supporting American indie heroes Bright Eyes, the Mirror spoke to a wiser Aidan Moffat - "the boy with the filthy laugh" who Belle & Sebastian once immortalized in song - about the horror of bagpipes, being exiled from his hometown, and kissing Conor.

Mirror: There's a photo on your Web site of you and [Bright Eyes singer] Conor Oberst kissing on stage last week, on your 30th birthday.

Aidan Moffat: Aye, it was wonderful. He's got a tongue like a big snake.

M: Nice. So I've noticed your lyrics have gradually become more abstract and poetic.

AM: I think so. There's still a couple of new songs about my ex-girlfriend who I went out with for four years - which is why the second through the fourth albums are so fuckin' miserable. In the past, I might have detailed some of the things that happened and called her names, but I'm a lot more thoughtful now.

M: Does that have anything to do with the threats of legal action and tabloid exposés from your other exes?

AM: Oh no, that was just stupid. To be honest, I wish that had happened, it would have been one of the funniest and most beneficial things for our career, but there's nothing they can do, I've never mentioned anyone by name.

M: But you got some heat from your hometown, right, accusations of painting Falkirk in a bad light?

AM: Aw, that was hilarious. The evening news was calling us talentless individuals. Scotland likes to laugh at itself and there's very much a defeatist attitude in Scottish culture, but there's also a double standard. When you openly criticize a place, then that's you fucked, that's you getting run out of town. But I let it happen. Falkirk is just like any small town in Scotland, but I'm much happier living in Glasgow.

M: I notice you use bagpipes on "Loch Levan." I imagine there's some irony there.

AM: Aye, I don't really like them. In Scotland, you hear bagpipes every fuckin' day 'cause they're on adverts on the TV or there's some fuckin' busker in the street annoying you with 'em. Especially in summer, when the tourist season starts, there's bagpipe players on every street. Oh God.

With Bright Eyes and Jesse Harris at Cabaret
on Sunday, May 4, 9pm, $20

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