Ok, so in my next life I am going to come back as Elvis Costello’s voice. Nothing more nothing less. Just this shimmering, tremoing, shattered wail of soulful introspection.

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In my next life, I want to sing like Frightened Rabbit frontman Scott Hutchison. Oh, and grow a lush beard, so I can play in their band. Better start cracking.

Hooray! Scottish troubadour Malcolm Middleton is touring Australia and we have double passes to his shows in Sydney [May 8], Melbourne [May 9] and Brisbane [May 10] to giveaway.

To win one, just be the first reader in one of those destinations to leave a message under this post. It’s as simple as that! First in, best dressed. Oh, and we’ll throw in a copy of his Sleigh of Heart EP for each winner as well.

There was a lot of fuss about former Arab Strap frontman Malcolm Middleton’s recent single, We’re All Going to Die, and the timing of its release around Christmas. We asked him if it was a publicity stunt, a reality check, a coincidence, or all three wrapped up into a two minute fifty slice of classic, introspective pop. ‘It wasn’t a publicity stunt I’m afraid. That would imply that I cared about publicity. It was simply a joke that got taken out of hand and then avalanched a bit. I’m glad it only got to number 31 over here as it could have ruined the nice little rut of miserablism that I’ve carved for myself. Ho-ho-ho!’ Four Cigarettes has been played over and over on my Ipod. A wonderful track. Do you recall writing it and then playing it for someone the first time? ‘I remember writing it and then immediately recording a pretty detailed demo the same day, including all the string and brass parts. The demo is slightly rockier, with louder choruses and distorted guitars. I felt it need softening a bit though. I can’t remember playing it to anyone. I tend to work in a vacuum’. Has it been a challenge moving away from the sound you created so successfully with Arab Strap? Though there are parallels to be drawn obviously. ‘It hasn’t been a challenge — more like fun. I now get to do all the bits that were good in Arab Strap but also stuff that I like without having to compromise or fight about it. I miss being in the band, though we did end it at the right time’ Does Australia [where he's about to tour] hold fond memories for you? If so, which part in particular? ‘I played on a boat in Sydney harbor in 2002 with Mogwai, Arab Strap, Machine Translations and myself. That was good fun. Most memories involve alcohol fueled youthful jet-lag. I’ll hopefully make some more memories like that, except without the youthful, of course’.

Malcolm Middleton’s new EP, Sleight Of Heart, is out now on Pod through Inertia. Malcolm will be touring Australia between 7th and 10th of May.

Formerly of Arab Strap, Scottish songwriter Malcolm Middleton sings with all the integrity and smoky purity of someone who has spent way too much time puffing away in the back corner of a sketchy Dundee pub. Four Cigarettes is a devastating track – sparse in the verses, lush in the choruses, and majestically organic in the delivery. I discovered it quite by accident on a wet New York morning whilst working away at a Soho cafe. It kinda shimmied into my headphones, the crackling wickedness of Middleton’s Scottish lilt ripping me straight out of my cappuccino induced haze. ‘Oh man!’, I thought to myself. ‘This is the greatest song most people will never know about’. Until now. Well, for a few of us anyway.

Listen to Malcolm Middleton’s track, Four Cigarettes.

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