Belle and Sebastian

While Belle and Sebastian have only been in my life a short while, (I've known about them a long time, of course, the sheer number of their albums overwhelmed me until I had a tad more pocket change) their newest album, Girls In Peacetime Want To Dance, has struck a chord with me like none of the others have. Maybe it's because I'm a fan of upbeat and clean albums. I like raw sound, their old albums have a charm of their own of course, but there is something about a certain level of production that my ears are fond of. Or maybe because the album has almost a 1960's vibe that makes me want to solve mysteries (don't know why) and dress like Twiggy. 

Yet, the album takes on many more genre's. There is the straight up disco jam "Enter Sylvia Plath" alongside the song "The Party Line," which sounds like it should be played at night clubs (or the night club that is my commute at least), whilst "The Everlasting Muse" sounds like a cross between "The Girl From Ipanema" and an Irish (they're Scottish) drinking song. (It's awesome, trust me.) The album has a dream-like theme that hangs over it, none of the lyrics really make that much sense, but the music takes over and they don't have to. The tones are soft and a bit muffled, especially on tracks like "The Cat With The Cream." I think I completely lost myself the first time I heard that song, which wasn't good because I needed to be paying attention to my GPS. 

The sheer amount of instrumentation is clear on this album, the use of strings make some songs sound more like a symphony than a pop song, and it's clear that Belle and Sebastian aren't going anywhere anytime soon. With this and the new movie musical God Help The Girl written by the leader of Belle and Sebastian, Stuart Murdoch, they're proving why they're the biggest little indie group around. 

"A subtle gift to modern rock, she says be popular, play pop, and you will win my love."

Songs to solve mysteries to:

The Party Line

The Power of Three

The Cat With The Cream

The Everlasting Muse

Play For Today

Today (This Army's For Peace)