"So I gave myself to God. There was a pregnant pause before he said Ok"
General Rating: 5
General Category: Mid-Late Nineties Indie Pop and Folk-Rock
ALBUM REVIEWS:
Disclaimer: this page is not written from the point of view of a Belle & Sebastian fanatic (even if B&S are one of my favourite bands) and is not generally intended for narrow-perspective B&S fanatics. If you are deeply offended by criticism, non-worshipping approach to your favourite artist, or opinions that do not match your own, do not read any further.
Coming Soon.
General Evaluation:
Listenability: 5+/5. I have trouble recalling even a single B&S song that isn't at least somewhat catchy and with a recognizable pop melody.
Resonance: 5+/5. Stuart Murdoch is as powerful and gripping as Morrissey, as haunting as Drake, and as thoughful as Dylan. Most of the time at least. And the occasional throw-ins from the other band members were very often timeless as well.
Originality: 2/5. The one area they kind of fall flat on, unless you count "twee pop", which I'd rather they not be remembered for.
Adequacy: 4/5. Occasional lapses of taste or decesnsions into fayeness...but they are rare.
Diversity: 4/5. Don't overlook them in this category. B&S tried/sampled literally hundreds styles, even if not all of them successfully.
Overall: 4.5 = *
* * * * on the rating scale.
Year Of Release: 1996
Record rating = 8
Overall rating = 13
A brilliant debut, originally intended as just a small-time class project...thankfully, it precipitated further masterworks.
Best song: THE STATE I AM IN
Track listing: 1) The State I Am In; 2) Expectations; 3) She's Losing It; 4) You're Just A Baby; 5) Electronic Renaissance; 6) I Could Be Dreaming; 7) We Rule The School; 8) My Wandering Days Are Over; 9) I Don't Love Anyone; 10) Mary Jo.
Hard to phathom how this little doozy got started. So some college kids from Glasgow got together to put to music some penned up material from aspiring poet Stuart Murdoch, and the result was a very limited edition of about 1,000 vinyl copies of what became known as "Tigermilk". Usually this stuff gets a B+ by the instructor, is listened to a few times by family members and close friends of the 'band', then gets forgotten, and the students graduate and get real jobs or something. Hah, well, sometimes in the vast sea of college projects rises to the surface a creation that doesn't go away...or refuses to go away, as the case may be. Like the "Blair Witch" phenomenom, this quiet, unassuming set of 10 songs caught a wave -- a tidal wave so-to-speak -- and for its first few years of its existence, was spread mostly through word of mouth (and then through music file sharing programs, at least until more copies went into print) at an alarming rate. Why is that? What makes this record so special?
Well, start with the opening song, "The State I Am In". This song begins with a faye acapella and lots of atmosphere...just Murdoch and a quiet accoustic guitar. The voice is delicate, but gripping, and the lyrics offer an intriguing puzzle that sucks you in at once. You could swear it was Nick Drake singing from beyond the grave. It virtually insists that, if you are to listen, you are to give it your full and undivided attention. And slowly enough you realize, this guy has something really important to say...passively perhaps, almost without consequence...but you can't help but think this could be your younger sibling or best friend that is suddenly opening their heart and soul to you. For instance, "The priest in the booth had a photographic memory for all he had heard. He took all of my sins, and he wrote a pocket novel called The State That I Am In. So I gave myself to God. There was a pregnant pause before He said ok. Now I spend my day turning tables round in Marks & Spencer�s, they don�t seem to mind". Doesn't seem like much, but to hear it softly sung and accompanied by a lovely melody that builds gradually before reaching a peak, hovering delightfully at its apex over a truly gorgeous chorus...it is with one quick listen (or maybe it was two?) that it becomes apparent this isn't some fiviolous group of punks smashing irrelevant notes together in their basement, driving their parents insane. This IS something special.
"Tigermilk" is bascially Stuart Murdoch's first solo album (ha ha). Sure, he has a backing accompaniment of five other band members who play various instruments and occassionally offer backing vocals and other contributions. But Murdoch writes, sings, and plays guitar in all ten tracks here...and that's a great thing really. His acute ideas for harmonizing stories of teen angst ("Expectations"), awkward character studies ("She's Losing It"), philosophical renderings ("I Could Be Dreaming") are obviously influenced from many different leanings (The Smiths, Field Mice, Love, Nick Drake, etc), but he combines them into a unique and refreshing approach that stands at odds with most contemporary music of its time -- mid-90s -- and at the same time inspires a host of twenty and thirty somethings...of all sorts of backgrounds...to hitch on for a ride into a world of escapism, perhaps even necessary isolationism. It is a big bad world out there after all, and where to go and seek shelter when you are a generation X'er (or Y'er), with all the expectations, pressures and sensory overload threatening to bury you under its weight? These guys know your anguish, certainly, and in turn offer you just the right recipe for sublime transcendental cravings. Listen to "I Could Be Dreaming" for instance...it has perhaps the most complex production of any song on the album, with many instruments, mixing and overdubs weaving a textured backdrop that fits seamlessly with the suggestive lyrics, which are presented in a rambling, stream of conscious fashion so as to evoke our inner desires that are otherwise strangled by daily inhibitions, and yet only come to be free during our reveries. (Why the song tails off into Isobel Campbell giving a recitation of several passages from the novel Rip Van Winkle, I have no idea, other than it's non-too-subtle tie into to the song's title, but it's loads of fun regardless). Or "We Rule The School", which contains excerpts from Panchebel's Canon, not to mention the most enchanting flute instrumental I've ever heard.
All tracks here are extremely well done, and don't sound anything like what you would expect from a group of inexperienced music students. They're clever, inventive, familiar yet crisp and new all at once. As sad as some of the themes are, the tunes are decidedly uplifting and toe-tapping in a majority of the cases (just listen to the pop giddyness of "You're Just A Baby", or the soaring instrumentation and vocals behind "My Wandering Days Are Over"). Other notables include "I Don't Love Anyone", which is arguably the most punkish B&S ever got....that is to say, not very. But even with this light-hearted dabble into the world of adolescent rebellion, it's done in a fashion that's instantly recognizable and complete with a sing-along chorus that is reminiscent of some of the best pop from the 60's. The only real odd-ball tune on here is "Electronic Renaissance", which is a stab at early 80s techno/synth pop. Just what the point of this was I'm not sure, but as much as it kind of disrupts the flow of the album, in retrospect it is still a well done tune that is just as good as anything Duran Duran gave us (okay, maybe it's not as good as "The Reflex", but it manages to work nevertheless).
Overall, a very impressive debut. The word-of-mouth success of Tigermilk thankfully led to the group's continuing efforts of translating Murdoch's songs and ideas into actual music. Who knew that their next project, after using more time to crispen the sound and further embellish the harmonies, would be one of the most memorable musical achievements of the last 20-25 years?
Year Of Release: 1996
Record rating = 10
Overall rating = 15
Simply put, one of the most beautiful and magnificent albums in recent memory. The remarkable consistency is only surpassed by Murdoch's eloquent use of imagery and storytelling.
Best song: ME AND THE MAJOR...but they're all superb
Track listing: 1) The Stars of Track and Field; 2) Seeing Other People; 3) Me And The Major; 4) Like Dylan In The Movies; 5) The Fox In The Snow; 6) Get Me Away From Here I'm Dying; 7) If You're Feeling Sinister; 8) Mayfly; 9) The Boy Done Wrong Again; 10) Judy And The Dream Of Horses.
Year Of Release: 1998
Record rating = 9
Overall rating = 14
Another pop masterpiece, but one that is more diverse and democratic than Murdoch's previous creation.
Best song: SLEEP THE CLOCK AROUND. Or ROLLERCOASTER RIDE
Track listing: 1) It Could Have Been A Brilliant Career; 2)Sleep The Clock Around; 3) Is It Wicked Not To Care?; 4) Ease Your Feet In The Sea; 5) Summer Wasting; 6) Seymour Stein; 7) Space Boy Dream; 8) Dirty Dream Number Two; 9) Boy With The Arab Strap; 10) Chickfactor; 11) Simple Things; 12) Rollercoaster Ride.
This was the first Belle and Sebastian album I listened to, and it remains one of my personal favorites. There's nothing objectionable about any of the material, but understandably this Scottish-indie folk group won't appeal to everyone's tastes. Their soft, delicate vocals and cautious, sometimes guarded instrumentation can turn off the passive listener...even put you to sleep. But the hooks are there, and they're powerful enough to grab hold and not let go. All tracks have good pop sensibility, and the lyrics (at times) are quite sharp, witty, and refreshing even when they lean towards being inscrutable. "It Could Have Been a Brilliant Career" isn't a particularly strong song to start off the album, but B&S have a tendency for slow, modest beginnings in their previous works. It's a bit pedestrian, but is catchy enough after several listens. "Sleep the Clock Around" is one of the album's high points. Again starting slow (and kind of reminiscent of Men Without Hats "Pop Goes the World"), it builds to a staggering crescendo....where synthesizers, horns, percussion and bagpipes take the song's thematic motif to dizzying heights that will lift you, if not force you, off your feet. Isabelle Campbell sings "Is it Wicked Not to Care", and (contrary to popular belief) she CAN sing. She (as well as Murdoch) is apparently Drake and Dylan-inspired, with a soft silken murmur that is very 'listenable' and lovable....but perhaps the very humbleness and quietness of B&S vocals make it hard to determine if their voices are actually worth anything. The song itself is sincere, with passages that remind me of Drake's "Northern Sky", what with it's Will You Love Me 'Til I'm Dead? verse and all. "Ease Your Feet Into the Sea" is tranquil and very atmospheric. It opens as a gorgeous love song...'Ease your feet off in the sea, my darling, it's the place to be'...but curiously takes an about face and becomes a dreary, bitter recant of a forlorn relationship that hints at suicide. It never feels uneven, however. Other notables include "Seymour Stein", a tale of unrequited love cleverly mingled with a tongue-in-cheek apology to a record exec who was stood up by one of the band members. Strange, but somehow it works. "Dirty Dream Number Two" and the title track are the high-water marks of the album in terms of harmony, musical arrangements, and lyrical imagination. "The Rollercoaster Ride", a near 7-minute send-off, is a brilliant conclusion to a mostly brilliant album...it magnificently builds to a climax of proportions seldom seen since the Beatles closed Sgt. Peppers with 'A Day In the Life.' It's a blessing that, while B&S seem to take extraordinary efforts to remain obscure and hidden, the treasures of their musical ideas nevertheless propagate throughout the world. These guys are too good to remain unknown.
Year Of Release: 2000
Record rating = 7
Overall rating = 12
The production values are up, but unfortunately the consistency of the album's quality suffers at times.
Best song: WOMAN'S REALM
Track listing: 1) I Fought In A War; 2) The Model; 3) Beyond The Sunrise; 4) Waiting For The Moon To Rise; 5) Wrong Girl; 7) The Chalet Lines; 8) Nice Day For A Sulk; 9) Woman's Realm; 10) Family Tree; 11) There's Too Much Love.
Year Of Release: 2003
Record rating = 6
Overall rating = 11
There most diverse album. Some of the experiements fail, but there are still plenty of classics.
Best song: STEP INTO MY OFFICE, BABY
Track listing: 1) Step Into My Office, Baby; 2) Dear Catastrophe Waitress; 3) If She Wants Me; 4) Piazza, New York Catcher; 5) Asleep On A Sunbeam; 6) I'm A Cuckoo; 7) You Don't Send Me; 8) Wrapped Up In Books; 9) Lord Anthony; 10) If You Find Yourself Caught In Love; 11) Roy Walker; 12) Stay Loose.
