Pitchfork

In a sad bit of news, the strapping, decidedly non-Arab lads behind plainspoken Scottish mope-pop institution Arab Strap have called it quits.

The band-- comprised of Aiden Moffat and Malcolm Middleton-- began collaborating back in 1995 and over the next 11 years released six fine studio albums (including The Last Romance, which came stateside this year), three live albums, and numerous singles. Through the majesty of song, they regaled countless young indie men and women with tales of the finer points of love, relationships, and fooking-- not bad for an act named after a sex toy.

"There's no animosity," wrote Moffat in an official statement. "We simply feel we've run our course."

On November 27, Chemikal Underground will release the Strap swan song in the UK, a farewell compilation titled Ten Years of Tears. Expect a U.S. version to follow sometime in early 2007. The disc features 18 listed tracks and two hidden bonus cuts, and collects a smattering of Arab Strap standouts hand-picked by the band, including demos, live recordings, Peel Sessions, and rarities, as well as fan favorite debut single "The First Big Weekend" and the very first AS recording, "Oxytocin".

The band also plans to release a final seven-inch featuring, appropriately, "There Is No Ending" (which also closes the comp) and a new Four Tet remix of "Weekend". No release date has been set.

Moffat and Middleton sure as fook aren't done with music yet either. The former, as L. Pierre, will release a new record called Dip in early 2007 and plans to follow it with another disc and tour-- these of the spoken-word variety. The latter is presently recording a solo album in Glasgow.

And finally, it wouldn't be a proper goodbye without a farewell show, eh? How about 11 of them? Arab Strap embark on a final tour this November, where they will help you weep into your pint at clubs across England and Scotland, and, fittingly, send the Strap out to pasture with two last gigs where it all began: King Tut's Wah Wah Hut in Glasgow.

Ten Years of Tears:

01 Preface: Set the Scene
02 Islands (Original 1995 Demo)
03 The First Big Weekend
04 Gilded (Live)
05 I Saw You (Peel Session)
06 The Clearing (Single Version)
07 Packs of Three (Live Acoustic)
08 (Afternoon) Soaps
09 Rocket, Take Your Turn
10 To All a Good Night
11 Turbulence (Bis Remix Radio Edit)
12 The Shy Retirer
13 Blood (Live)
14 If There's No Hope for Us (Rogue Version)
15 Where We've Left Our Love
16 The Girl I Loved Before I Fucked (Full Band Version)
17 Oxytocin
18 There Is No Ending (7" Edit)

Eleven nights of goodbyes:

11-01 Nottingham, England - Rescue Rooms
11-03 Norwich, England - Arts Centre
11-05 Portsmouth, England - Wedgewood Rooms
11-06 Liverpool, England - Theatre
11-07 Bristol, England - Thekla
11-08 London, England - Scala
11-29 Manchester, England - Academy 3
12-01 Edinburgh, Scotland - Cabaret Voltaire
12-02 Aberdeen, Scotland - Tunnels
12-03 Glasgow, Scotland - King Tut's Wah Wah Hut
12-04 Glasgow, Scotland - King Tut's Wah Wah Hut