The Week Never Starts Round Here

The Week Never Starts Round Here
Studio album by Arab Strap
Released	25 November 1996 (1996-11-25)
Recorded	MCM Studios (Hamilton, Scotland)
Genre	Alternative rock lo-fi [1]
Length	49:36
Label	Chemikal Underground
Producer	Paul Savage
Arab Strap chronology
The Week Never Starts Round Here (1996) Philophobia (1998)
Singles from The Week Never Starts Round Here
"The First Big Weekend" Released: 1996 (1996) "The Clearing" Released: 1997 (1997)

The Week Never Starts Round Here is the debut studio album by Scottish indie rock band Arab Strap. It was released on 25 November 1996 on Chemikal Underground. The album was reissued in 2010, with a bonus CD which includes the band's first session for John Peel, from March 1997 with guest appearances from Belle and Sebastian's Stuart Murdoch and Chris Geddes, and their first ever live gig, at King Tut's in Glasgow in October 1996, as recorded live for Peel's show.

In a 2009 interview, band member Malcolm Middleton stated that The Week Never Starts Round Here is his favourite Arab Strap release: "...it's completely undiluted and free from any self-expectations, which we later developed". ^[2]

Arab Strap also included a song entitled "The Week Never Starts Round Here" on their 2003 album Monday at the Hug and Pint .

Critical reception

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[3]
Drowned in Sound	7/10 [4]
Pitchfork	6.8/10 [5]
PopMatters	7/10 [6]
Q	[7]
Select	4/5 [8]

The Independent wrote that the album suggests "Tricky's fractured interior monologues, the new folk of Palace and Smog and the infamous unreleased tapes of Irvine Welsh setting his diary to the music of Joy Division, while actually sounding like nothing but itself." ^[9]

Track listing

All tracks are written by Arab Strap (Malcolm Middleton and Aidan Moffat)

No.	Title	Length
1.	"Coming Down"	3:35
2.	"The Clearing"	5:52
3.	"Driving"	2:11
4.	"Gourmet"	2:40
5.	"I Work in a Saloon"	2:35
6.	"Wasting"	3:42
7.	"General Plea to a Girlfriend"	1:44
8.	"The First Big Weekend"	4:53
9.	"Kate Moss"	4:50
10.	"Little Girls"	2:29
11.	"Phone Me Tonight"	4:28
12.	"Blood"	2:54
13.	"Deeper"	7:35
Total length:		49:36

2010 reissue edition bonus disc

No.	Title	Length
1.	"The Smell Of Outdoor Cooking" (Peel Session 1)	4:18
2.	"Soaps" (Peel Session 1)	4:09
3.	"I Saw You" (Peel Session 1)	3:39
4.	"The First Big Peel Thing" (Peel Session 1 - version of "The First Big Weekend")	3:32
5.	"Intro" (Live at King Tut's, Glasgow 1996)	2:02
6.	"General Plea to a Girlfriend" (Live at King Tut's, Glasgow 1996)	1:22
7.	"The Clearing" (Live at King Tut's, Glasgow 1996)	2:27
8.	"Kate Moss" (Live at King Tut's, Glasgow 1996)	2:32
9.	"Gilded" (Live at King Tut's, Glasgow 1996)	2:50
10.	"Driving" (Live at King Tut's, Glasgow 1996)	1:50
11.	"I Work In A Saloon" (Live at King Tut's, Glasgow 1996)	2:40
12.	"Phone Me Tonight" (Live at King Tut's, Glasgow 1996)	3:18
13.	"Blood" (Live at King Tut's, Glasgow 1996)	3:52
14.	"The First Big Weekend" (Live at King Tut's, Glasgow 1996)	3:59
Total length:		42:42

References

1. Stylus Staff (22 March 2004). "Top 101–200 Favourite Albums Ever". Stylus Magazine . Archived from the original on 16 February 2022. Retrieved 27 April 2023. Fleshing out their palette from the extreme lo-fi sound of their The Week Never Starts Round Here debut...
2. Lindsay, Andrew (25 April 2009). "Interview: Malcolm Middleton". Stereokill.net. Retrieved 25 April 2009.
3. Raggett, Ned. "The Week Never Starts Round Here – Arab Strap". AllMusic . Retrieved 20 February 2018.
4. Thomas, Sean (27 August 2010). "Album Review: Arab Strap – The Week Never Starts Round Here (special edition)". Drowned in Sound . Archived from the original on 23 May 2018. Retrieved 20 February 2018.
5. Tangari, Joe (19 August 2010). "Arab Strap: The Week Never Starts Round Here [Deluxe Edition] / Philophobia [Deluxe Edition]". Pitchfork . Retrieved 20 February 2018.
6. Beasley, Corey (23 September 2010). "Arab Strap: The Week Never Starts Round Here / Philophobia (Deluxe Reissues)". PopMatters . Retrieved 20 February 2018.
7. "Arab Strap: The Week Never Starts Round Here". Q . No. 384. May 2018. p. 117.
8. Mullen, John (January 1997). "Arab Strap: The Week Never Starts Round Here". Select . No. 79.
9. Thompson, Ben (2 February 1997). "Rock". Sunday Review. The Independent. p. 18.