Finally.
DCW is Belle & Sebastian’s new album and probably their best since If You’re Feeling Sinister…
That is, Stuart Murdoch took charge again, and while the album is very idiosyncratic, his songwriting pulls it off. Music-group-as-democracy just so seldom works, and why should it when one member of the group is just so talented?
Standouts, so far: Step into My Office Baby, Roy Walker and You Don’t Send Me, which is maybe the catchiest B&S song to date (well, maybe second to Lazy Line Painter Jane). These latter two I heard on a John Peel session a few months back, and their album arrangements are nearly identical, which is very welcome.
Asleep on a Sunbeam is also nice, light, and effortless, and I’m a Cuckoo reminds me, in style, of Don’t Leave the Lights On.
Wait until you hear the Mariachi horns!
Also got the High LLamas’ Beets, Maize, and Corn, which I think is out in October, as well. Haven’t listened yet, though.
One Comment
Your review is way off. The writing is quite terrible and excessively mawkish; and hell, I`m an American inundated with Hollywood dramatics. It works well as a pop album; if the point of a pop album is to sound catchy and fun. In that context, it is a very successful album. But Belle and Sebastian`s earlier work are much more respectable and legitimate, and sound less harisplittingly polished. There`s no way that is is better than `Arab Strap`.