Malcolm Middleton has already released four albums as the guitarist with Arab Strap; one listen to his debut solo album and you wonder why he didn't kick Aidan Moffat from the microphone years ago. Where Moffat mumbles morosely, Middleton has a warm, immediately engaging voice that makes even his saddest songs sound strangely joyful. He has a real knack for marrying self-deprecating lyrics with dancing, luminous melodies: "I'm hopeless, I don't have a clue," he booms on Wake Up, guitar and drums clattering exuberantly. The Loneliest Night of My Life Come Calling, meanwhile, has the tipsy boldness of a fabulous drinking song. "I'll never be good at anything and my songs are pish," Middleton frets in Devil and the Angel. He couldn't be more wrong.