BELLE & SEBASTIAN - Fold Your Hands............
Matador/Jeepster
It's been a busy year for this publicity-shy Scottish septet, between the CD release of their previously ultra-rare debut TIGERMILK as well as the collection of three formerly import-only EPs released together as a budget priced box set, both on Matador records in the US. Following practically on the heels of the 'Lazy Line Painter Jane' box set is this, their first batch of new songs since 1998's THE BOY WITH THE ARAB STRAP. This is also their first work without bassist Stuart David, who recently departed to continue working with his former side project, Looper. Finally bespectacled students in boarding schools and bedsits everywhere can rejoice, for these fey, articulate popsters have returned with a set of dreamy, subdued songs once again featuring the sharp lyrical tongue and reedy tenor of frontman Stuart Murdoch. This time out, however, Murdoch takes a more egalitarian approach, including compositions by guitarist Stevie Jackson, Isobel Campbell, and violinist Sarah Martin, the latter for the first time. While the first few songs sound a bit too earnest (particularly 'Beyond The Sunrise'), the string-tinged melancholic pop of 'Waiting For The Moon To Rise' proves they haven't yet lost the plot. The next track, however, is classic Belle & Sebastian, from the opening, soul-tinged notes of a Wurlitzer organ, the string section in the instrumental break, to the wistful horns at the end. It's a lover's lament with bitter lyrics describing the end of a love affair - "My baby called me up to say/Don't leave the light on baby/I'll see you sometime maybe". The rest of the album is sprightly and pleasant (except for a harrowing tale of rape in 'The Chalet Lines'), but never manages to approach the heights of 'Don't Leave The Light On Baby'. Standout tracks include 'Waiting For The Moon To Rise', 'Don't Leave The Light On Baby' and 'Women's Realm'.
DAVE HOFFMAN (7)
The few people I know who have been fans of Belle & Sebastian for more than a few years all seem to have mixed feelings about this, their 4th full length album. Some feel that it's too much of the same old sound, with too few new twists to their "Velvet Underground meets The Beautiful South" style. Others think it's a little TOO different, especially since singer Stewart Murdoch seems to have further relinquished his role as the group's frontman. I've only been listening to B&S for a year or so, and I love this album - oddly enough, for a combination of the very reasons my friends have for not immediately embracing it. It has a great balance of the tried and true B&S sound ('The Model' and 'Women's Realm' ) and what feels a bit like a flirtation with 60's cinema scores (the Ennio Morricone-tinged 'I Fought In A War' and 'Don't Leave The Light On Baby'). The 'Legal Man' EP released a few months prior to the album, certainly heralded that different things were to be expected; the title track is a sitar-laden, over-the-top pastiche of the swinging, mod soundtracks of the 60's. Nothing on FOLD YOUR HANDS goes quite as far as 'Legal Man', no doubt to many fans relief, but with almost every song there's a sense that you're hearing only the audio track of a terrific film. As mentioned, Murdoch sings lead on only about half of the album, giving other band members a chance in the spotlight. My favorite track on the album, 'Waiting For The Moon To Rise', is sung by bandmate Isobel Campbell and could be a lost single from the El Records catalogue. 'Nice Day For A Sulk' pairs Murdoch's dour lyrics with a tune that recalls Bacharach's 'Raindrops Keep Falling On My Head'. For me, the combination of old and new styles (for the band, anyway) is a thoroughly winning one - this is Belle & Sebastian's best album yet.
JUDE HAYDEN (8)