He’s known for his melancholy and witty songs – but Malcolm Middleton reckons Swedish dance star Avicii helped inspire his new album.

The former Arab Strap man’s new record, Summer of 13, is a poppier, brighter effort than before – albeit still with plenty of downbeat observations.

And Malcolm was keen to find a more direct style.

“I was listening to Avicii and cheesy Europop,” he says, explaining what tunes he had on while making the record.

“I really like the no nonsense aspect to those songs. I grew up listening to pop, indie and metal, so I was wanting to get away from the drawn out introductions I’ve done in the past.

“It’s always been going that way – the Human albums and the David Shrigley one were upbeat, quite poppy stuff and I mainly listen to pop music these days. I’m not a modern pop artist though, I’m not going to be among the Rihanna’s or Biebers – there’s pop elements but it’s still a Scottish guy that’s downbeat about stuff.”

Those other projects Malcolm mentions – the two mostly instrumental records he made under the name Human Don’t Be Angry and a collaboration with the artist David Shrigley on 2014’s ferociously foul-mouthed Words And Music – mean that it’s been seven years since Malcolm last released a solo album under his own name.

Given that break followed a packed period of three albums in three consecutive years, it’s clear that Malcolm needed some time off.

“I knew I needed a break and I wanted to stop writing the same type of songs,” he says, speaking ahead of a show this Friday at the Art School.

“The longer it went on the more I thought that the next album had to be really good, because I couldn’t have such a long break and then put out something that wasn’t up to standard, so it became a bit of a burden but it pushed me on a bit as well.

“I think the song Steps was the first one that really got me excited again, and it was the impetus behind finishing the record. My background (lyrically) can be quite self-deprecating and picking at the same old scabs, and I wanted to get away from that, although there’s still a bit of that as there’s a hangover of that on some of the earlier songs.

“About halfway though I was aware I wanted to change things a bit and make it happier. It’s not a happy record, but it’s slightly happier…”

Helping Malcolm along the way was producer Julian Corrie, better known as Glasgow dance pop act Miaoux Miaoux, while a move to Anstruther saw him work on a couple of tracks with his new next door neighbour, Gordon Anderson – formerly of the Beta Band and now recording under the name Lone Pigeon.

The result sees Malcolm’s typically wry lyrics blended with electronica and vivid 1980s pop.

“It’s more a tribute to some of the cheesy things in songs,” he reflects.

“A lot of the references (in the songs) were stuff I hated at the time but have grown to like – just nice things that tickle the ears.”

The idea of Malcolm Middleton: Pop Star might seem odd, but it’s a lot easier in modern music to switch between genres, and the singer doesn’t feel music is as tribal as it was when he was growing up.

“There’s not that thing where you can listen to this but you can’t listen to that, it’s a free for all,” he says.

“That’s great and good, but I do miss the little cliques and affiliations you’d have – I don’t know if people are more accepting of that now. I remember being 17 or 18, and getting threatened because I had long hair and a Nirvana T-shirt – I don’t think you’d get that now.”

It’s not just pop that’s on Malcolm’s mind though. He recently covered Bob Dylan’s Rainy Day Woman#12 & 35 for a compilation being put together by a music magazine.

“Rainy Day Woman is hard to pull off unless you’re doing karaoke, so I wasn’t sure what to do,” he says.

“My first worry was how do you sing Dylan unless you impersonate him because he’s so iconic, so in the end I veered away from the original quite a bit.”

Malcolm Middleton, Art School, Friday, £12.50, 7pm