The Last Romance

The Last Romance is the sixth studio album by Scottish indie rock band Arab Strap, released on 17 October 2005 on Chemikal Underground.

Vocalist Aidan Moffat stated that the album is "a lot more upbeat, but still deals with some of the darker aspects of relationships. It's like the dark side in Star Wars though – quicker, faster, more seductive." Moffat also noted his desire for the album "to be shorter, more immediate. If our previous albums could be considered 'hard work', I wanted this one to be a slap in the face. I felt it was important we didn't make the same album over ten years, so this one was going to be more digestible and a lot louder."

Following the album's release, Arab Strap announced that it would be their last. Moffat stated that: "there’s no animosity, no drama. We simply feel we’ve run our course. The Last Romance seems the most obvious and logical final act of the Arab Strap studio adventure. Everybody likes a happy ending."

Overview
The Last Romance maintains the snide lyrical style common to Arab Strap, while adding a more optimistic tone in certain songs, such as "There Is No Ending". There are only 3 acoustic songs on this album, which has a rock-oriented sound, with influences from bands like Mogwai.

The sleeve artwork on the front contains a collage designed by Australian illustrator Rik Lee, whose previous work features many of the images seen on the sleeve artwork. The inside contains the lyrics hand-written in a notebook-style layout.

Reception
In December 2009, The Skinny placed The Last Romance at number 25 on its list of "Scottish Albums of the Decade".

Personnel
Credits for The Last Romance adapted from album liner notes.


 * Arab Strap
 * Malcolm Middleton – bass, guitar
 * Aidan Moffat – vocals, drums, organ


 * Additional musicians
 * Geoff Allan – vocals ("There Is No Ending")
 * Alan Barr – cello ("Stink", "Confessions of a Big Brother")
 * Barry Burns – organ ("Come Round and Love Me"), piano ("Dream Sequence")
 * David Jeans – drums ("(If There's) No Hope for Us", "Don't Ask Me to Dance", "Speed-Date", "Dream Sequence")
 * Nicola MacLeod – vocals ("(If There's) No Hope for Us", "Come Round and Love Me")
 * Jon McCue – vocals ("There Is No Ending")
 * Jenny Reeve – violin ("Come Round and Love Me", "There Is No Ending")
 * Andrew Savage – vocals ("There Is No Ending")
 * Allan Wylie – trumpet ("Speed-Date", "There Is No Ending")


 * Production
 * Geoff Allan – recording, production
 * Arab Strap – production
 * Morten Bue – mastering
 * Paul Savage – recording, production


 * Artwork and design
 * Bulletproof ID – layout
 * Rik Lee – illustrations