people, i just wrote this for Comes with a Smile (www.comeswithasmile.com) and anyone here with time to waste: --- Belle & Sebastian – Dear Catastrophe Waitress (Rough Trade) Heroes to many, a sad joke to others, Belle & Sebastian can inspire both obsession and disgust from various quarters. That may be changing, however, as 'Dear Catastrophe Waitress' sees the band shedding their middle-class, intellectual-only, folk image. In its place, these 12 tracks bring an all-new Belle & Sebastian: poppy, polished, confident, realised and accessible. Step Into My Office, Baby is a cheeky and playful opener, If She Wants Me is a light and fluffy sing-along, I'm A Cuckoo is a blatant Thin Lizzy tribute and the closing track, Stay Loose, would have been a sure-fire hit in the 80s. Though the band denies Trevor Horn has heavily influenced their sound, much can be read into their unflinching willingness to employ him in the first place. For those old school fans currently despairing in their bedrooms, there are a few (yes, just a few) tasty treats on offer. The almost-lost gem, Lord Anthony, has thankfully been revived and will now stand alongside countless early E.P. and album tracks as a classic. Piazza, New York Catcher is a Donovan-esque acoustic song of sexual confusion and books – things that made 'old' songs so great. However, they do feel like something of a cop-out by Stuart Murdoch. For such an otherwise-radical album, these 'traditional' tracks somehow feel out of place. Those who have remained loyal will probably feel disappointed upon the first few listens and the album does have some 'grower' potential. But whilst there are encouraging signs (Sarah Martin's blossoming voice, Trevor Horn not destroying the band completely, Stuart Murdoch reigning in songwriting controls) sparks of genius are few and far between – especially considering this is Belle & Sebastian's longest album to date. Overall, 'Dear Catastrophe Waitress' is a sweeping change – too drastic for many – to something almost completely unrecognisable as that shy, retiring group from Glasgow. --- i also stumbled across rolling stone's review of dcw at http://www.americanmary.com/press/thenational_ssfdl_RS934_ltr.jpg . the national's album next to it is very good by the way. two posts in a month. i must be unemployed or something... c. ________________________________________________________________________ Want to chat instantly with your online friends? Get the FREE Yahoo! Messenger http://mail.messenger.yahoo.co.uk +-------------------------------------------------------------------------+ +---+ Brought to you by the Sinister mailing list +---+ To send to the list mail sinister@missprint.org. To unsubscribe send "unsubscribe sinister" or "unsubscribe sinister-digest" to majordomo@missprint.org. WWW: http://www.missprint.org/sinister +-+ "sinsietr is a bit freaky" - stuart david, looper +-+ +-+ "legion of bedroom saddo devotees" "peculiarly deranged fanbase" +-+ +-+ "pasty-faced vegan geeks... and we LOST!" - NME April 2000 +-+ +-+ "frighteningly named Sinister List organisation" - NME May 2000 +-+ +-+ "sick posse of f**ked in the head psycho-fans" - NME June 2001 +-+ +-+ Nee, nee mun pish, chan pai dee kwa +-+ +-+ Snipp snapp snut, sa var sagan slut! +-+ +-------------------------------------------------------------------------+