Even Malcolm Middleton, arguably the most angsty front-man around, has embraced this year’s electronic revolution. Zero, taken from Malcolm’s fifth solo album Waxing Gibbous, is a slight departure from his usual guitar heavy songs. His inclusion of electronic drum beats and keys may even give it a greater chance of reaching the heights of the charts than his 2007 Christmas hope We’re All Going to Die, which reached a dizzying Top 40 slot.
In Zero Malcolm successfully combines his characteristically glum vocals with the ludicrously catchy casiotone riffs in the chorus. Not only that, he even manages to throw in a suitably Scottish sounding rap between choruses.
Some may say that with this track Malcolm has pushed too far away from his old style into the mainstream, but he displays his typically morose lyrics while producing a song that is truly memorable and accessible to the masses.