Arab Strap - The Last Romance

Genre rock Publisher Transdreamer Records External Links Official Website Transdreamer Records

Words like "slut" can take on an attractive quality when sung with a heavy Scottish accent, and Arab Strap dilute neither their elocution nor their generalized contempt in The Last Romance. This is the 5th full-length record put forth by vocalist Aiden Moffat and multi-instrumentalist Malcolm Middleton, the critically, if not commercially, acclaimed Scottish duo digging a heel in at over a decade of sardonic, maudlin, smelly-crotched songwriting.

Expressions of disgust and regret affront you right away in the aptly named first cut, "Stink": "Burn these sheets that we just fucked in...your skin and your breath and your sweat and greasy hair...strangers waking up in the Monday morning stink / of course I feel sad but it's not what you think." Sad indeed. In fact, the whole record is sad, bitter, honest, and clever. The second song "(If There's) No Hope for Us" is the worst musically; the guitar is an annoying, amateurish, tinny sounding rapid strum, then we get a layer of Aiden's lyrics spoken through distortion over this guitar and it just comes off as gimmicky in an early-90's U2 way. A timid female vocalist chimes in who sounds more like she's trying out for a post-modern European groove collective from 1984 than recording with a well-reputed and established team. "Chat in Amsterdam, 2003" follows with the same distorted poetry-read feel, this time projected over a bothersome flat-sounding organ, though it does rescue itself with some innovative and pleasing distorted guitar, ending nicely with one of those notes hanging just so. "Confessions of a Big Brother" is a really wonderful, introspective trip laden with intelligent lyrics and insights. It's a look at migration in attitude towards sex relations; from women seen as the enemy with points scored for breaking hearts to a matured, kinder stance borne of recognizing the psychological mechanisms that played into former hostility. Clearly he doesn't want to see his bro follow the same (presumably) guilt-riddled path: "I'm not just a hypocrite/I'm jealous of your youth." There's also a really aurally pleasing vocal with a perfectly echoing cello repeated a couple of times; "Hey look at me, hey look at me/you know I love you obviously / and I'm not out to spoil your fun / but you don't have to hurt someone"

Two minutes of cutely placed silence follow "There Is No Ending", easily the most hit-friendly song on the record. With big brass and a catchy - you read it right, CATCHY, Arab Strap - choke on that - melody, I was damn near singing along. Damn near. What we didn't need were the two additional tracks thrown on the end of the U.S. release. The record was nicely done with the original ten songs. Say that with a Scottish accent, and next time call it done.