Customer Reviews

I'm Waking Up to Us

5 star:		(18)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Of course, it's all so subjective, but I think this single is the best they've produced so far. The openning track is more formally satyrical, the lead singer actually stylizing his singing voice quite dramatically! It's odd that this is the title song, though. Although certainly very enjoyable (great back-up vocals that you'll have to sing along with) it's not the best of the three.

The following tracks, however, are really fantastic.

I love my car is so beautifully produced, has such rich sound, but retains that honest crisp sound that Belle and Sebastian make their trademark. The melody is amazingly catchy (if a bit jingle-like) and the beat is infectious in an old dixieland jazz kind of way. This is the first track that suddenly hit me, and I listened to it over and over, like seven or eight times in a row.

But most astounding is Marx and Engels, which I think is their most beautiful song to date. As always, their lyrics are fascinating, but the melody is just so sweet and rhapsodic. Again, the producing is really excellent. All the instrumentation is very well played and surrounds you in a soft, warm shower of harmony. With a lovely vocal counterpoint and an almost mystical ending, this song has more of a dramatic shape than most Belle and Sebastian songs. It travels farther and offers an interesting revelation at the very end. It's a total classic.

The first song, "I'm Waking Up To Us," is produced by Mike Hurst, the producer of Cat Stevens in his "Matthew and Sons" period. Both this song and "I Love My Car" are quite specifically intended to recall Stevens' early sound with all its flourishes. Even the cover art seems to illustrate Stevens' early hit "I Love My Dog." As others here have pointed out, "I Love My Car" also recalls the Kinks circa 1967, particularly the arrangements in "Tin Soldier Man" and "Deadend Street," which ends, like this track, with a Dixieland stomp chorus. As clever and well-done as these done songs are, they are playful pastiches not likely to thrill those without patience for the kind of songs on which they are modeled. "Marx and Engels," on the other hand, is Belle and Sebastian imitating themselves, which from my point of view is always a valuable undertaking.

"I Love My Car" is one of Belle & Sebastian's most fun songs ever. It is an upbeat and kind of goofy song to lighten your spirits. In a day when so much music is depressed, anti-establishment, post-modern, and the list goes on, this track reminds us there is so much more to life than lust, conspiracy, and politics. And I just love the horns! I would buy this album just for this song. It has made my week.

The two other tracks are strong, "standard" Belle & Sebastian, and worth the purchase also. Overall a great EP and release by Belle & Sebastian. I understand that these tracks will no appear on the next LP, so fans best pick it up.

Alright, how many of you reading this have now seen B&S perform the title song on Conan O'Brien? It gets better, believe me! Although this EP only has three songs (averaging out to about 2.5 bucks apiece), it it worth every penny.

The first song "I'm Waking Up to Us" has been sadly bashed in a few of the other reviews and it really is not deserved. The background orchestral music is lush and beautiful, a mix of violin, cello, flute, piano, and acoustic guitar. Stuart M. is in fine form, both vocally and lyrically. The syncopation is kind of different from his usual smooth sound, but it is a lovely aberration. As well, the lyrics are perfectly pertinent to anyone on the recieving end of a Dear John (or Jane) letter. "I haven't changed / how could I? I'm pretty much the same person! / I cannot keep the anger hidden any more / but lucky for you / you are not around".

"I Love My Car" is an aquired taste... you either love it, or you can't stand listening to it. The lyrics are simple and hilarious, almost to the point of being innane. If you listen carefully, though, you can hear the smile behind the words, and that makes all the difference. Also the music is again something new for B&S - a dixie band! Fun! You may just find yourself humming "I love my car / I must admit today I've gone too far / to enamour myself of my little motorcar" as you drive away to work, though.

The final song, "Marx and Engels" is a gorgeous return to true B&S form. The story of a boy who is turned down by a girl who believes herself above him, against a backdrop of piano and violin. The lyrics are simple, but become multilayered when Isobel begins a speech track above the singing. Truly beautiful.

Buy it. A lovely, diverse introduction to a superb band. Plus, a bonus feature for fans is the insert picture (finally!) of the band members themselves.

Ishka Bibl!

This EP packs more gorgeous harmony, lush instrumentation and charming lyrics into its 10 short minutes than most bands manage in a full album, if ever.

"Waking Up To Us" sounds a bit like a lost Roy Orbison/Phil Spector tune from the 60's, with its rich orchestration and Stuart's heart-thumping-on-sleeve vocal delivery. It's full of wonderful violin and oboe counter-melodies, and it wins my award for Best Use Of Bassoon In A Rock Song.

What if the Squirrel Nut Zippers covered the Beach Boys' "God Only Knows?" The result might sound a lot like "I Love My Car." I can't get its bouncy, swaggering horn melody out of my head. More wonderful, inscrutable Stuart lyrics here: "I love the rat who lives under the floor and makes his bed from novelettes." He's got triple the imagination of most songwriters.

"Marx and Engels" could hold its own with the best of "If You're Feeling Sinister." It's a warm, gentle piano tune, in which our hero's advances are rebuffed by that cute Communist Manifesto-reading riot grrl in the local laundrette.

I feel like all the previous B&S albums have been building toward this point. It's relaxed, whimsical, intimate and rich. You won't want to do without this disc.

The I'm Waking Up To Us cd single contains one fabulous song, one very good song and one okay song. "Marx & Engels" is fabulous, classic Belle & Sebastian with haunting melodies and heartbreaking lyrics. The title track is a very good song while "I Love My Car" has a catchy beat, but awful lyrics.

Every few years or so, the lads and lassies in Belle & Sebastian seem to have to put out a song that leaves their listeners scratching their heads in bewilderment (See "A Century of Elvis", "A Space Boy Dream", "Beyond the Sunrise", and most recently "Legal Man"). And that is the effect that "I'm Waking Up to Us" and "I Love My Car" have upon the first listen.

The latter features the band backed up by banjos and other interesting instruments. Extra points for the clever wordplay in the song: "I love my Carl. I love my Brian, my Dennis, and my Al. I could even find it in my heart to love Mike Love." The title track has singer Stuart Murdoch singing in a different style than we have come to expect from previous releases. Although the 2 tracks may throw you for a loop the first couple of listens, they tend to grow on you. It's nice that the band is constantly growing and experimenting with new sounds.

The last track, "Marx and Engals" is done in classic B&S fashion. Beautiful backing vocals by Isobel highlight the track. All told, this is a good release. It will at least tide diehard fans over until the next full length.

You might like this record if you like: The Gentle Waves, Nick Drake, or Lullaby For the Working Class.

I've been in love with this band since late 1997, when I was bowled over by "..Sinister." 4 years later, I'm still very much an ardent supporter of the band, but the 'head over heels' bit has faded. It's not that the magic and charm they so effortlessly weave has in anyway diminished. In fact, they've consistently put out the best chamber pop albums every year. It's just that more recent offerings have been somewhat mixed. "Legal Man" and "Jonathan David," while worthy and good, failed to capture the full talent of the band as previous releases had. There was also much division in the ranks over the quality of "Fold Your Hands Child..".. but after repeated listens, I think most will agree that 90% of the album grows on ya and stays with you as the other albums have. That said, I'm happy to report that this ep is solid gold. I loved it upon first listen, which hasn't happened with the last few B&S releases.. and I have to say it's good to be filled with an excitement for them again. "I'm Waking Up To Us" is perhaps the zenith of B&S 60's throwback sound. It's a gorgeously orchestrated and produced number that harkens back to the best days of The Byrds. "I Love My Car," with its merry accompaniment from The Uptown Shufflers, is perhaps the most fun song the band has released since "Lazy Line Painter Jane." While "Marx and Engels," the beautiful and quiet closer, slips comfortably under the heart, and takes up residence there for a good long while. The quick bit of piano that finishes the e.p. is a perfect example of the simple yet profound pleasures this band is capable of.
A must have? Most definitely.

Great single/EP... one of their best, I think. I'm Waking Up to Us is fantastic. I Love My Car is a great shift for them musically. Marx & Engles, classic B&S lyrics. I HIGHLY recomend this. A MUST have for a B&S fan or for anyone genuinly interested in getting into them. Why take an SSRI when you have new B&S to listen to?

I was quite disappointed by "Jonathan David" and a bit wary of buying this EP, but happily, it's a great little album. It meets the high standards set by "If You're Feeling Sinister," especially in the final two of its three tracks.
The title-track is kind of a throwaway--not very memorable lyrically or musically, leading one to wonder why it is indeed the title track. Probably because the titles of the other two tracks would make poor album titles--isn't releasing an EP called "Marx & Engels" just a bit too pretentious, even if people like us are its audience?
Perhaps, but that song is the clear stand-out, a little like "Fox in the Snow" if it were about the person you like being more into the literature of the revolution than into you (and even Rosa Luxemburg knew what that was like). It's a great song, that you will quite possibly listen to over and over--you may even wake up with it in your head, as I did this morning. This lovely song closes the album.
The one before it, "I Love My Car," is also high quality. It starts out mellowly enough, but it will end up sounding a bit like B&S's take on "When I'm Sixty Four," replete with cheery clarinets and an upbeat tempo--a winner as well. The most unfortunate thing about this album is that it's confined to three tracks. But you'll listen to them again and again.