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."[1] 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."[1]
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."[1]
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.