News
15 July 2026 – Arab Strap Enter The Horrors Of ‘Glamour Magick’
By Editorial Team - July 15, 2026
Summary
Scottish duo Arab Strap satirize aging and beauty standards in new single 'Glamour Magick' from upcoming album 'Half-Told Tales'.
Key Facts
- Arab Strap share new single 'Glamour Magick' from 'Half-Told Tales'.
- The track and video satirize the beauty industry and the pressures of aging.
- The Scottish duo's new album is set for release on September 4.
- Entities: Arab Strap, Glamour Magick, Half-Told Tales, Aidan Moffat, Malcolm Middleton
- Tags: arab strap, glamour magick, half-told tales, alternative, dark humor, music video
<a href="/tags/arab-strap">Arab Strap</a> have shared ‘Glamour Magick’, the second single from their forthcoming album ‘Half-Told Tales’, due on 4 September. The song examines the pressure to remain youthful and the increasingly elaborate procedures people consider while attempting to hide the visible evidence that time has continued functioning. Its accompanying horror-themed video turns beauty treatments into escalating bodily nightmare, which feels only slightly more dramatic than reading the ingredients on certain anti-ageing products.
Aidan Moffat approaches the subject with the duo’s characteristic dark humour, beginning with everyday items such as shampoo, toothpaste and eye cream before imagining much more extreme interventions. Malcolm Middleton supports the track with a tense and brooding musical setting that prevents the satire from becoming merely comic.
‘Glamour Magick’ follows ‘You You You’, another song confronting ageing, and suggests ‘Half-Told Tales’ will examine middle age without either romanticising it or pretending everybody has peacefully accepted their reflection. <a href="/tags/arab-strap">Arab Strap</a> remain excellent at finding the comedy inside despair, then leaving enough despair behind to stop anybody becoming too comfortable.