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People usually have an opinion – good or bad – about Belle and Sebastian. Words such as twee often turn up in critiques of the band, but to take that as gospel is to miss the point. Over the past decade and a half, the many-tentacled Glasgow outfit, operating under the guidance of founder and chief songwriter Stuart Murdoch, have gradually become something of a treasure. To dismiss them as something soft students mince around to while wearing cardigans is foolish. Cross this lot and you are D-E-A-D. (Okay, maybe not.)
For their eighth album, and first for four years, B&S have reconvened after extra-curricular dalliances, such as Murdoch’s God Help the Girl and drummer Richard Colburn’s Tired Pony, to reclaim their crown from, well, no one. There’s simply no one else like them. There are some vague photocopies featuring people who you’re surprised are allowed out of the house, but for a British band as unique, as special, as Belle and Sebastian, you really have to travel back to the days of The Smiths.
Muscular pop of the finest variety is on the agenda here. Opener I Didn’t See It Coming explodes into a glorious widescreen chorus noise, and Come on Sister is a polite glam stomper. I Want the World to Stop finds the band in a state of exhilaration, scarves-aloft melodies that smell of talcum powder rising high. Guests lend their weight to proceedings, too: Norah Jones’ honeyed tones illuminate Little Lou, Ugly Jack, Prophet John; and An Education star Casey Mulligan sings on the jaunty title-track. Both settle in effortlessly. The band’s own Stevie Jackson’s I’m Not Living in the Real World has a flavour of early Blur about it, and Sarah Martin’s leads I Can See Your Future fit splendidly into the band’s oeuvre.
Write About Love is a cracking pop album and a fine addition to a great band’s already impressive catalogue. Had it been released a few months ago, it would’ve literally been the sound of summer. As it is, in a dank and damp October, it’s the perfect accompaniment to a plateful of cakes. Marvellous.
--Ian WadeFind more music at the BBC This link will take you off Amazon in a new window
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
11 of 12 people found the following review helpful
Format:Audio CD
This is a good B and S album. Okay, it is not "Sinister" (but let's be honest, hoping that B and S are going to return to the sound of that fragile masterpiece is a bit like wishing that Neil Hannon will remake "Promenade" - it's not going to happen, nor should it) but it is certainly an excellent piece of work.
After a few seconds of random noise, "I didn't see it coming" begins and it is a little like opening the front door to an excellent friend that you haven't seen in a while. It is classic B and S and brings a smile to my face.
Elsewhere, the album is strong - "I want the world to stop" is a highlight - although hearing Norah Jones sing lines about "the milkman" is a little too odd for my tastes.
Perhaps they won't win any new fans with this record and perhaps they don't care, but I am really enjoying it.
After a few seconds of random noise, "I didn't see it coming" begins and it is a little like opening the front door to an excellent friend that you haven't seen in a while. It is classic B and S and brings a smile to my face.
Elsewhere, the album is strong - "I want the world to stop" is a highlight - although hearing Norah Jones sing lines about "the milkman" is a little too odd for my tastes.
Perhaps they won't win any new fans with this record and perhaps they don't care, but I am really enjoying it.
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
Format:Audio CD
The last B&S album I listened to properly and repeatedly was 'Fold your arms' and I didn't get it. It was too patchy. Prior to this 'If you're feeling sinister' and 'Arab strap' were the most played records of their respective year's in our house.
However, my wife bought this a few weeks ago and whilst it, too, is patchy, the good bits are UNBELIEVABLY good. There are some really uplifting 'stompers', not dissimilar to 'dirty dream'. Surely this contains two or three of the best pop songs of the last 5 years? Tracks 2, 4 and 6 would make it onto a 'B&S best of' mix tape in this house, even including the early singles. I think I still prefer the slightly more depressing early stuff, but compared to most of the flotsam out there at the minute; this is really rather good.
However, my wife bought this a few weeks ago and whilst it, too, is patchy, the good bits are UNBELIEVABLY good. There are some really uplifting 'stompers', not dissimilar to 'dirty dream'. Surely this contains two or three of the best pop songs of the last 5 years? Tracks 2, 4 and 6 would make it onto a 'B&S best of' mix tape in this house, even including the early singles. I think I still prefer the slightly more depressing early stuff, but compared to most of the flotsam out there at the minute; this is really rather good.
6 of 7 people found the following review helpful
Format:Audio CD
they set the bar mighty high, and Write About Love comes nowhere near reaching the heady heights of either of the their last 2 albums, and those are not even their best.
Write About Love is a perfectly enjoyable, completely worthy Belle and Sebastian album.
First, the stand outs:
I want the world to Stop / I didn't see it coming / The ghost of rockschool - these three songs alone are worth the price of this album, they do exactly what B&S do best, while seemingly effortlessly adding that special something - A sound that goes beyond just a great tune and a well written song - these songs are the 'event' songs B&S fans have been waiting for since The Life Pursuit, and they are easily the equal of stand out tracks like Another Sunny Day and Act of the Apostle from that record.
Just below the stand outs we have I'm not 'living in the real world', and the lead off single title track - and if all the rest of the tracks on the album could come up to the standard of those 2 tracks then Write About Love would jostle for the position of best ever B&S album.
So where does it go wrong? Unfortunately, the rest of the tracks, while enjoyable, are forgettable, with the exception of Norah Jones duet 'Little Lou...', which is memorable for the wrong reason - namely that Norah Jones sounds so completely out of place here, that the album suffers from the feeling that we have to stop all proceedings to politely pay homage to her voice. Any B&S fan surely thinks at this point: 'wouldn't Sarah Martin make this song so much better?', especially considering that her duets with Stuart Murdoch on the aforementioned standouts are a large part of what makes those tracks so memorable.
I haven't yet heard the 3 bonus tracks across the formats - often B&S save some of their strongest tracks for B Sides. With the death of the Bside since they last released an album, my hope is that these bonus tracks reveal themselves as a saviour for the Wrote About Love era. With Dear Catastrophe Waitress we got Your Cover's Blown as an extra track from those sessions, and The Life Pursuit era gave us the amazing Heaven in the afternoon, Meat and Potatoes, The Life Pursuit, Long Black Scarf... all these in addition to albums on which it's hard to find a forgettable track.
That's why, after a four year hiatus, I have to be slightly disappointed with the Write About Love era so far. Here's hoping those bonus tracks are as wonderful as 'I Want The World To Stop', and here's also hoping for an EP follow up of other leftover tracks in the near future.
Stuart Murdoch remains the best British songwriter around today, with the greatest band behind him - as I said before, they set the bar so so high... and Write About Love would be a five star album from any other band - but these three stars reflect its place in the Belle and Sebastian back catalogue to date.... (it's still a hundred times better than God Help The Girl!)
Write About Love is a perfectly enjoyable, completely worthy Belle and Sebastian album.
First, the stand outs:
I want the world to Stop / I didn't see it coming / The ghost of rockschool - these three songs alone are worth the price of this album, they do exactly what B&S do best, while seemingly effortlessly adding that special something - A sound that goes beyond just a great tune and a well written song - these songs are the 'event' songs B&S fans have been waiting for since The Life Pursuit, and they are easily the equal of stand out tracks like Another Sunny Day and Act of the Apostle from that record.
Just below the stand outs we have I'm not 'living in the real world', and the lead off single title track - and if all the rest of the tracks on the album could come up to the standard of those 2 tracks then Write About Love would jostle for the position of best ever B&S album.
So where does it go wrong? Unfortunately, the rest of the tracks, while enjoyable, are forgettable, with the exception of Norah Jones duet 'Little Lou...', which is memorable for the wrong reason - namely that Norah Jones sounds so completely out of place here, that the album suffers from the feeling that we have to stop all proceedings to politely pay homage to her voice. Any B&S fan surely thinks at this point: 'wouldn't Sarah Martin make this song so much better?', especially considering that her duets with Stuart Murdoch on the aforementioned standouts are a large part of what makes those tracks so memorable.
I haven't yet heard the 3 bonus tracks across the formats - often B&S save some of their strongest tracks for B Sides. With the death of the Bside since they last released an album, my hope is that these bonus tracks reveal themselves as a saviour for the Wrote About Love era. With Dear Catastrophe Waitress we got Your Cover's Blown as an extra track from those sessions, and The Life Pursuit era gave us the amazing Heaven in the afternoon, Meat and Potatoes, The Life Pursuit, Long Black Scarf... all these in addition to albums on which it's hard to find a forgettable track.
That's why, after a four year hiatus, I have to be slightly disappointed with the Write About Love era so far. Here's hoping those bonus tracks are as wonderful as 'I Want The World To Stop', and here's also hoping for an EP follow up of other leftover tracks in the near future.
Stuart Murdoch remains the best British songwriter around today, with the greatest band behind him - as I said before, they set the bar so so high... and Write About Love would be a five star album from any other band - but these three stars reflect its place in the Belle and Sebastian back catalogue to date.... (it's still a hundred times better than God Help The Girl!)
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
Great Album
This is a great album from B&S, with a great 60s slightly Californian vibe in places (not that that is a new direction as such for this band); and great coup geting Carey Mulligan... Read more
Published 6 months ago by J
Love it!
I hadn't heard of the artists until I was bored during a longhaul flight and stumbed across this album in the flight audio list. Read more
Published 9 months ago by MC
Perfectly beautiful album
After the Bowlie board was dissolved, I checked in with the Anorak forum to see how long standing fans of B&S rated this LP. Read more
Published 12 months ago by J. Smith
great cd
I was browsing in a music store just before Christmas & this cd was playing. I asked who it was & by the time left the store we had listened to a lot of the album. Read more
Published 15 months ago by A. Searle
impressed, relieved, delighted
Impressed, relieved, delighted and absolutely needing to write about this (after my first listen). There is a great deal to love here; loadsa fabulous and inventive song structures... Read more
Published 15 months ago by Steph P
very good album
Finally B&S releases a new album. I'm very happy about it. As someone wrote here, it's like opening the door to an old friend. That's exactly how this album feels to me. Read more
Published 16 months ago by Maurilio
Mission Accomplished!
It is difficult to maintain the same level during years and I consider that the band is improving one after the other. It is a very good record. Read more
Published 18 months ago by gdvdj
Nothing to write home about
I don't know what is missing from this new Belle & Sebastian album; it's certainly not the contemplative monochrome photograph on the sleeve artwork, the familiar font or the... Read more
Published 18 months ago by youvegotsoup
Great that they are back!!
It's great that B&S are back after their break and back singing such beautiful songs again.
This will go down as a classic.
This will go down as a classic.
Published 18 months ago by Mr. S. Mansoori
Best since Catastrophe
This record has hardly been off my player since I bought it, and the same goes for my mates. Strange then that some have rated it only three stars. Read more
Published 19 months ago by Simon Crutchley
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