Sinister: Boston Globe concert review

Fri Oct 23 16:52:54 BST 1998

Here's another review, from the best Boston daily newpaper, but sadly it
contains no innuendo. At least he did his homework!

(but first, from another matthew ...)
>to answer my own question of yesterday, i picked up the cinerama 
>album, and i must say, it is horrible.  

Oh no are they really that bad? Has Gedge completely lost his edge? It
seemed like they'd be a great opener.

Boston t-shirts were about $15 (one in blue with retro-logo that all the
cool kids bought right away and then one with sinister album cover on
black, which made it look like a mobile billboard of sorts for the band --
ya know, the cover kind of loses its subtlety when it's in bright inks).

--mat

MUSIC REVIEW
Cult band from Glasgow just a little too lulling 

By Jim Sullivan, Globe Staff, 10/23/98 

There is no Belle or Sebastian in Belle and Sebastian. This 2
1/2-year-old octet from Glasgow takes its moniker from a French
novel by Cecile Aubry, which was turned into a children's TV series in
Europe during the early '70s. Pretty obscure, no? Yet, Belle and Sebastian
may be the hippest cult band on the planet right now - definitely the case in
the United Kingdom. Their third album, ``The Boy With the Arab Strap,'' is
a critical success, and their concert at the 660-capacity Morse Auditorium
Wednesday night sold out three weeks ago. Their hourlong set was the first
date of their US tour and their first Boston appearance. 

Belle and Sebastian is a clean-cut, collegiate-looking group, nominally
fronted by singer-guitarist Stuart Murdoch. We say nominally because he
hates the front man tag, considers himself one-eighth of the mix and at times
Wednesday disappeared behind a bank of keyboards, leaving a
center-stage gap. The group also eschews interviews and photo sessions,
lending them a certain mystique. (When they have spoken, they've explained
they just consider most rock talk a waste of time.) ``Reading about a band's
antics can take away from their music,'' drummer Richard Colburn told the
Glasgow Herald earlier this month. 

Belle and Sebastian are a lilting, at times lulling, folk-rock band,
reminiscent
of the late Nick Drake (without the dark side) or the groups Dream
Academy and Aztec Camera. Of course, the Velvet Underground is in there
- ``Like Dylan in the Movie'' boasts ``Sweet Jane'' chords. They're a band
of many subdued colors - cello from Isobel Campbell, violin from Sarah
Martin, muted trumpet from Mick Cook. It's not flashy; it's a tapestry.
Listening to B and S is like taking a canoe down a bubbly brook, with
Murdoch's wispy, conversational tenor serving as a guide, augmented by
guitarist-secondary singer Stevie Jackson. 

The concert began with ``Simple Things,'' and Murdoch's soft-sung
declaration of ``If you want me I'll be there/A boy to deal with all your
problems/But part of the deal/Is for you to feel something.'' It was all quite
delicate - artful chamber-pop, sensitive music with a charming insouciance
and some lyrical weight. The edge, if you can find it, comes from Murdoch's
sly lyrics, which recall those of Morrissey. Sample song title: ``Is It Wicked
Not to Care?'' Sample couplet: ``Everyone is trying to make it/In this century
of fakers.'' A problem, though: Murdoch's vocals are so hushed, they're
often lost in the mix, even though the instrumentation is also subdued. 

Another nagging bit: Belle and Sebastian occasionally veer into a
too-precious realm. There were numerous awkward gaps between songs as
the band made adjustments and talked among themselves. Cute at first,
annoying later. There were stretches when you thought they'd achieved the
ultimate in gentle and lilting, and then they'd top themselves. (Hey, how
about a xylophone or a recorder? OK!) Only two songs, ``A Spaceboy
Dream'' and the set-closing ``Sleep the Clock Around,'' brought some noise.
Mostly, Belle and Sebastian are about modest pleasures. 

Containe, a quintet fronted by singer-guitarist-bassists Connie Lovatt and
Fontaine Toups (with Yo La Tengo's Georgia Hubley on drums), were just
too lukewarm and even-keel during their opening set. Their folk rock wafted
past like a low-key summer breeze. 

article:
http://www.boston.com/dailyglobe/globehtml/296/Cult_band_from_Glasgow_just_a
_littl.shtml

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