{{Infobox album | name = As Days Get Dark | type = studio | artist = Arab Strap | cover = As Days Get Dark by Arab Strap..jpg | border = yes | alt = | released = {{start date|2021|3|05|df=yes}} | recorded = | studio = Chem19 (Glasgow, Scotland) | genre = Alternative rock | length = 47:19 | label = Rock Action | producer = Paul Savage | prev_title = The Last Romance | prev_year = 2003 | next_title = I'm Totally Fine with It Don't Give a Fuck Anymore | next_year = 2024 | misc = {{Singles | name = As Days Get Dark | type = studio | single1 = The Turning of Our Bones | single1date = 23 October 2020 | single2 = Here Comes Comus! | single2date = 2021 | single3 = Fable of the Urban Fox | single3date = 2021 }} }}
'''''As Days Get Dark''''' is the seventh studio album by Scottish indie rock band Arab Strap, released on 15 March 2021 on Rock Action. It was their first album in 16 years (since ''The Last Romance'') and their first since officially reforming in 2016.
==Overview== The usual lyrical preoccupations of Arab Strap—depravity, drinking and despair—are in evidence on ''As Days Get Dark'', with allusions to voodoo ritual ("The Turning of the Bones") and Greek mythology ("Here Comes Comus!") alongside commentaries on immigration ("Fable of the Urban Fox"), social media ("Bluebird"), and emotional burnout ("Tears on Tour").
==Artwork== The album art depicts a personal computer desktop with two windows open, both displaying images. The 1886 painting "The Night Escorted by the Geniuses of Love and Study" by Pedro Américo is foregrounded, but clearly obscures a presumably pornographic image of a reclining figure clad in nylons and little if anything else. The back cover is similar, with what appears to be the same image this time obscured by both the track listing (in a bespoke Microsoft Word) and Lorenzo Costa's "The Reign of Comus".
==Reception== {{expand section|date=May 2024}} {{Music ratings | MC = 84/100<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.metacritic.com/music/as-days-get-dark/arab-strap|title=Reviews for As Days Get Dark by Arab Strap|publisher=Metacritic|accessdate=12 April 2002|archive-date=2 March 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210302213520/https://www.metacritic.com/music/as-days-get-dark/arab-strap|url-status=live}}</ref> | rev1 = AllMusic | rev1score = {{Rating|4|5}}<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.allmusic.com/album/as-days-get-dark-mw0003456610|title=As Days Get Dark – Arab Strap|publisher=AllMusic|accessdate=12 April 2022|last=Thomas|first=Fred|archive-date=12 April 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220412142539/https://www.allmusic.com/album/as-days-get-dark-mw0003456610|url-status=live}}</ref> | rev2 = ''NME'' | rev2score = 4/5<ref name="NME">{{cite web|url=https://www.nme.com/reviews/album/arab-strap-as-days-get-dark-review-2893028|title=Arab Strap – 'As Days Get Dark' review: a superbly seedy career-best|date=3 March 2021 |publisher=NME|accessdate=12 April 2022|archive-date=12 April 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220412142207/https://www.nme.com/reviews/album/arab-strap-as-days-get-dark-review-2893028|url-status=live}}</ref> | rev3 = ''Pitchfork'' | rev3score = 8.0/10<ref>{{cite web|url=https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/arab-strap-as-days-get-dark/|title=Arab Strap: As Days Get Dark|work=Pitchfork|date=11 March 2021|accessdate=12 April 2022|last=Berman|first=Stuart|archive-date=12 April 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220412142537/https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/arab-strap-as-days-get-dark/|url-status=live}}</ref> }}
''As Days Get Dark'' was received positively, with some reviewers describing it as the band's best work.<ref name="NME"/>
==Track listing== {{Track listing |headline=''As Days Get Dark'' track listing |all_writing=Malcolm Middleton and Aidan Moffat |title1=The Turning of Our Bones |length1=5:03 |title2=Another Clockwork Day |length2=3:30 |title3=Compersion Pt. 1 |length3=3:36 |title4=Bluebird |length4=2:52 |title5=Kebabylon |length5=5:15 |title6=Tears on Tour |length6=4:29 |title7=Here Comes Comus! |length7=4:14 |title8=Fable of the Urban Fox |length8=4:55 |title9=I Was Once a Weak Man |length9=3:27 |title10=Sleeper |length10=6:24 |title11=Just Enough |length11=3:33 }} {{Clear}}
==Charts== {| class="wikitable plainrowheaders sortable" style="text-align:center" |+Chart performance for ''As Days Get Dark'' !scope="col"| Chart (2021) !scope="col"| Peak<br />position |- {{album chart|Scotland|1|date=20210312|rowheader=true|accessdate=12 April 2022}} |- {{album chart|Wallonia|109|artist=Arab Strap|album=As Days Get Dark|rowheader=true|access-date=6 December 2025}} |- {{album chart|Switzerland|48|artist=Arab Strap|album=As Days Get Dark|rowheader=true|access-date=6 December 2025}} |- {{album chart|UK2|14|date=20210312|rowheader=true|accessdate=12 April 2022}} |- {{album chart|UKIndependent|3|date=20210312|rowheader=true|accessdate=12 April 2022}} |}
==References== {{Reflist}}
{{Arab Strap}}
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:As Days Get Dark}} Category:2021 albums Category:Albums produced by Paul Savage (musician) Category:Arab Strap (band) albums Category:Rock Action Records albums