Scottish duo release sadcore album

All of the songs in Arab Strap's latest release, The Last Romance, deal with love in a negative light, which is ironic considering the band is named after a sex toy.

The Last Romance, similar other Arab Strap offerings, is a lot like the band's native Scotland: dark, cold, rainy and depressing. The album's mood is both aggressive and somber.

Those looking for something uplifting better look elsewhere. Fans of this branch of indie rock sometimes referred to as "sadcore" will definitely want to pick up a copy.

The band is made up of two members. Aidan Moffat sings and occasionally plays keyboards, while Malcolm Middleton does pretty much everything else. Their music mixes doses of new wave, dream pop, rock and folk together to create a perfect background for the world-weary lyrics laid on top.

The album is consistent from the first song to the last. They are all of good quality. Of the 12 songs, few songs stick out: "(If There's) No Hope for Us," "Don't Ask me to Dance," "Dream Sequence" and "Speed-date."

On the surface, "(If There's) No Hope for Us," sounds like it might be a happy song. The music is upbeat with bouncing, jangle-pop guitar but the vocals start up and drone on about the disintegration of a relationship "How did our language come to this/We speak in grunts and sighs and shrugs/you see you think we'll still be friends/but we both know that we won't."

A female singer comes in during the last verse to act as the girlfriend and then the two go back and forth about their relationship.

"Don't Ask me to Dance" is driven by a steady beat, intertwined with dreamy guitar bits. The singer is in a sour mood and feels like being alone, but is still irritated by his lover.

"You know I've felt like this before/I know you have felt it too/But maybe I don't want to dance/because I haven't had as much as you."

The song trudges along, matching the sentiments of the lyrics and then finishes with a distorted guitar assault.

"Dream Sequence" is the most hopeful, albeit still bleak, song on the 46-minute album. It sets a choppy '80s guitar riff and staccato drums against some beautiful piano work.

The best song here, "Speed-Date," is up-tempo, making it easily the catchiest and most radio friendly song on the album. It talks about the absurd practices of dating rituals "And maybe we're just lucky/maybe a connection is unique/and if that's really just what normal people do/then I'm glad to be a freak."

The production on the album is rich and lush, creating a huge sound.

This works very well most of the time, though sometimes the production is a too over-polished and takes away from the songs.

While the band has yet to have any real commercial success in the states, Arab Strap has a large following across the pond.

The band has released two albums for the Matador Records label, home of such acts as Modest Mouse, Belle and Sebastian, Pavement and Teenage Fanclub.

However, critics seem to love the band. Britain's Radio One declared their debut single, "The First Big Weekend," as The Best Record of the Decade.

If you're down in the dumps and want to go even farther; pop open a beer, put in this CD and throw yourself a pity party.

Arab Strap will support their album's North American release with a two month tour through the United States and Canada, starting in March in Los Angeles.

The Last Romance, which is the band's sixth studio album, was released on Feb. 7 through the independent, New York-based label, Transdreamer Records.