For a long time I didn’t know the name of this album even though I had listened to it a thousand times. A friend of mine made a tape of it for me and I couldn’t stop playing it. It’s brilliant from start to finish.

Even though it was supposed to be written during a time when he was pretty miserable, there’s a lot that’s really positive about the album — though that could just be the romantic in me. It’s quite jaunty by his standards, which isn’t saying much, I suppose. I like Malcolm Middleton’s honesty, his music is a kind of confessional. He sings about the things and the people that mean something to him. Yes, he can sound a bit miserable for some people’s tastes but, for the most part, his songs are really beautiful and moving. Take a song like Break My Heart, it makes me smile every time the way he wears his heart on his sleeve. Funnily enough, I don’t like to hear people I know talk about people they know but, because I don’t know him, it’s a treat to hear something that raw and honest.

I can’t understand what he says sometimes, but I love the Scottish accent. I love Scottish accents in general, my ear is acutely tuned to the sound. I’m a fan of a lot of Scottish bands and I think it’s something to do with the way certain vowels sound.

So why is a Londoner drawn to a Scottish songwriter? I think it’s a generational thing. When I was a teenager everybody I knew was listening to Scottish bands and, after Trainspotting, the Scottish accent was the sexiest thing in the world. I think a whole generation of people were drawn to Scotland as a result. It works for me every time. Pile on the misery.

Josie Long’s All of the Planet’s Wonders is at the Pleasance Courtyard until August 25

Explore Music

• CD Reviews

• Live Reviews

Editor's choice

• The 100 Best Films of 2008
• Hitler and the Downfall mash-ups
• Britney Spears: The Circus