Sinister: yet *another* review

[Stephanie]

In the Flagpole today they had a review of TBWTAS. For those of you who
don't know, the Flagpole is like a free local Athens "entertainment"-type
newspaper thing. 

I haven't read the review yet, so I don't know if it's good or
well-written or not, but here it is:


BELLE AND SEBASTIAN	
The Boy With The Arab Strap
Matador

Belle and Sebastian are the auditory equivalent of a warm blanket. Last
year's full-length _If You're Feeling Sinister_, as well as three
subsequent EPs, have transcended hipster boundaries worldwide and
attracted a devoted and ever-growing cult of listeners who have been
labeled, by publications such as the _Village Voice_, as born-again
Smiths fans. The music of Belle and Sebastian belies that narrow
definition, though, as this Glasgow octet play very well-crafted, catchy
pop songs invested with a real sense of intimacy and delicacy. The result
is something that sounds like Nick Drake crossed with Tommy Boyce and
Bobby Hart. Lyrically, Belle and Sebastian are apt to be too clever by
half and a tad precious, but when this band is firing on all cylinders--as
they were the majority of time on _Sinister_--it's about as perfect as pop
music gets. 

It was inevitable, then, that Belle and Sebastian's new release, _The Boy
With The Arab Strap_, would have a difficult time living up to
_Sinister_'s grandeur. While the songs on this new album generally aren't
as strong as the band's previous work, they are a great deal more fleshed
out than the spare arrangements found on _Sinister_, incorporating lush
strings and organs--and on "Sleep The Clock Around", bagpipes from the
motherland--into most of the tracks. Lead singer/songwriter Stuart Murdoch
shares vocal duties with his bandmates this time around as well, helping
move Belle and Sebastian closer to a fully-functioning, collaborative
octet rather than just the group of friends Murdoch originally assembled
to help augment his songs.

This more collaborative, wizened affair leads to some interesting
highlights, including the Stevie Jackson-sung "Seymour Stein", a lovely
melancholy tune that sounds like it could be an outtake from VU's _Loaded_
(featuring a humorous riff on Johnny Marr's lackluster project
Electronic--for all those born-again Smiths fans). Other great moments
include the carousel-like cacophony that emerges from the background as
Murdoch sings happily of "seven weeks of staying up all night" in "A
Summer Wasted" [shouldn't that be Wasting-steph], the shuffle and twisted
sexuality of the title track (go ask your parents what an "arab strap" is)
grounded on a bassline spryly barreling forth from the '70s classic
"Draggin' the Line", and the lonely piano that emerges halfway through
"The Rollercoaster Ride", and continues to play long after the vocals have
ceased. 

The real keeper here, though, is "Dirty Dream Number Two". As good a pop
song as you'll hear this year, it's Dusty Springfield with whispered
vocal. Spector without the Wagner, and closer to a Bacharach-David song in
1998 than anything Elvis Costello's own collaboration with Burt is going
to muster up, all driven by a backbeat right out of 1965. In the last 55
seconds of the song, as the strings and horns ride the beat, soaring
forward and higher, your heart soars with them, and it's almost as good as
that first crush, that first slow dance, that first kiss. This is why God
gave us pop music.
(625 Broadway, 12th floor, New York, NY 10012)

James Blount



Okay, that was it. *Whew!* My fingers are really tired now.

Cheers & love,
Stephanie 

"Even when I was a tiny girl, I preferred being alone...I could give my
imagination free rein and live in a world of lovely dreams"--Greta Garbo


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