Track Listing

1. Stink
2. If There's No Hope For Us
3. Don't Ask Me To Dance
4. Confessions of a Big Brother
5. Come Round and Love Me
6. Speed Date
7. Dream Sequence
8. Fine Tuning
9. There Is No Ending

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #61440 in Music
• Released on: 2005-10-17
• Number of discs: 1
• Dimensions: .24 pounds

From the Label
After five critically acclaimed albums and a brace of solo projects, Aidan Moffat and Malcolm Middleton have conspired to produce an album that reaffirms their status as uniquely gifted songwriters and maverick artists in an increasingly benign musical landscape. Ten years into a gloriously prolific career, it’s fair to acknowledge that if familiarity doesn’t necessarily breed contempt, it is certainly capable of inciting indifference. With The Last Romance, Arab Strap have provided us with the perfect opportunity to fall in love with them all over again.

CD Description
The follow-up to 2003's well-received MONDAY AT THE HUG & PINT, THE LAST ROMANCE continues Arab Strap's successful run of songs about losers and malcontents. This time around, theScottish duo of vocalist Aidan Moffat and multi-instrumentalist Malcolm Middleton expand and amp up their often sedate indie-rock sound, while sticking to themes of bleak working-class realism. "Stink" is a spare, melancholy tune that descends into dark, distorted guitar riffs (a la Mogwai), while "Speed Date" is a surprisingly propulsive rocker, which is then followed by the appropriately atmospheric "Dream Sequence". The two songs reinforce the notion that Arab Strap, though possessing a distinct, fully formed aesthetic, is still arestlessly inventive band intent on charting a range of musical terrain.

Customer Reviews

Consistent and Catchy!
This is a more accessible album from the Falkirk boys than their last couple of (sometimes patchy) efforts. "Stink", with it's lilting chorus describing tales of sex and smelly flats after heavy nights. Aidens warped poetry and Malcolms delicate acoustic guitar are backed by cello on "Confessions of a Big Brother", while elsewhere "(If There's) No Hope For Us" and Speed-date are more up-tempo affairs. Current single "Dream Sequence" has more relationship scrutiny and features a catchy piano hook. Superb album closer, "There Is No Ending" is ultra-topical, mentioning everything from passive smoking to bird flu in one terrific rant! Overall, a well-paced work, which is both layered and infectious, and probably the best album they've made to date.

new beginnings....
i love the understated, and as such, my first response to this effort was less than positive. this is a different arab strap to that of the past, a more immediate, uptempo 'Strap with something to prove. Yes, there are quieter moments, but they're rare, desiged to fill the space between the melodious and the loud. for arab strap, post rock is dead. let it grow, though, and there's a minor miracle to behold. the lyrics are as prescient as ever, but the songs do indeed resonate it, albeit in a different way. it took a while, but i might just be coming round to aidan's way of thinking. arab strap needed a jet of cold air, and maybe this is just it.....

Their best yet
I have been pleasantly surprised by this album, I was disappointed by their last two. I felt they were just drifting, but on this record Aidan has raised his lyrical acuity up a notch and the musical bits from Malcolm accompany him perfectly. They at last convey a sense of euphoria on There is no Ending, even though the lyrics are full of self-loathing. And on speed-date they seem to be producing an anti-swinger manifesto which I can wholeheartedly sympathise with. Could it be they've turned a corner? Seen the light at the end of the M9? Fallen in love? Whatever it may be, I'm glad they're still spreading the miserabilist gospel