Customer Reviews

Write About Love

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(8)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

3.5 stars

Come on what were you were you expecting, Belle and Sebastian sing death metal? This new album by B & S "Write about love" is largely about continuity despite a four year absence since 2006's "The Life Pursuit" and of course is full of charming, quirky and wryly observed indie pop songs with what John Peel used to describe as dangerous hints of melody.

A friend once asked me to burn a "Best of" compilation of Belle and Sebastian songs, and sadly she is still waiting for it. The trouble of course is that the songs of this wonderful Scottish band more than just soundtrack your life they sometimes define it. Thus picking out favourites involves all kinds of agonies. "Expectations" and "We rule the school" from their debut Tiger Milk defines the period of formal education for many people. "Step into my office baby" is a salutary warning to every person embarking on a office fling while the whole of the wonderful "If your feeling sinister" is an album which has sound tracked more than its fair share of bedsit angst and broken romance.

"Write about love" continues many of these themes and is a very nice and pleasant album which could be its big problem. In one sense its Belle and Sebastian "go mainstream" without the extremes of terrible frustrated heartache, minus the outright wistful melancholy and with lyrics not quite as witty and clever as they once were. They still produce great titles and in "Calculating bimbo" they have a song which is probably closer to their roots with the trademark Murdoch and Martin vocal interplay. Similarly there are excellent pop songs like the lovely five minute plus "Didn't see it coming" sung by Sarah Martin while actress Carey Mulligan star of the excellent British film "An Education", guests on the sunshine filled title track. It is almost a Motown sounding pure pop gem which will need a priest to exorcise the melody from your brain. Finally in the "The Ghost of Rockschool" they have produced a song which stands up to some of their best.

A further big name guest namely Norah Jones can be found on a duet with Stuart Murdoch entitled "Little Lou, Ugly Jack, Prophet John". Ms Jones demonstrates her usual smokey trademark vocals but frankly the song would have struggled to get on "Come away with me". Ironically "Sunday's pretty icons" does sound like a Sundays song and ambles along nicely while "I want the world to stop" reminds your reviewer of one of those ever present Frou Frou songs that seem to comprise the bedrock of the OC soundtrack. There is of course nothing wrong with good pop songs but this is the band that wrote "Stars of Track and Field", "Like Dylan in the movies" and "The state I'm in" and you just want them to be on par with that level of exquisite songcraft whose strength was often the ability to unsettle as opposed to merely charm. Anyone new to B & S will probably love this set of warm harmony filled pop and undoubtedly it will grow over time. Consequently while "Write about love" is no classic its great to have them back.

First the good news: Stuart Murdoch and his merry band of melodic players are back. It's been four long years since their last full length recording (The Life Pursuit.) This is a safe and predictable outing from Scotland's indie darlings: Light as a feather female vocals, check; Chamber pop arrangements, check; Stuart's lyrical soft touch, check; A dash of blue eyed soul/r and b, check. It's like they took everything that people like about the band and put out a Belle and Sebastian by the numbers record. In today's pop world, that's not a bad thing.

Now the not so good news: There is nothing on here that comes close to the heights of The State I'm In, Like Dylan in the Movies or The Model (or a dozen other brilliant songs from previous releases.) Don't get me wrong, there is some magic here: A beautiful transition, a clever line or a jangling guitar part that are sure to raise one's spirit. It just seems like we've heard it all before. Some of the melodies are similar to what we've heard in the past.

Highlights include the bouncy tracks Come on Sister and I Want the World to Stop along with the ballads Calculating Bimbo and Read the Blessed Pages. Actually there are no weak tracks here. There's just nothing that challenges their past masterpieces. I kept wondering when I'd feel the goosebumps...

Write About Love is the perfect album to play if you want to feel happy. It's kind of like a walk through a meadow. Classic albums like If You're Feeling Sinister are the kind of albums you play on a rainy day while sipping hot tea. Back then, Stuart could write songs about love (and just about everything else) that made you laugh and cry (with goosebumps.) As we all reach middle age (fans and band, alike), safe and sunny feels pretty good. It's good to know this gentle and kind rock band still has its heart in the right place.

I was recently discussing with one of my friends about this album, and apparently everyone she knows thinks it's terrible, and she didn't like it either. But I really disagree... I actually really really like it. I actually like it better than "The Life Pursuit" (which my friend could NOT believe). I think we expect too much from them. I don't think there can be another "If You're Feeling Sinister" because it was just THAT amazing. That was a once in a lifetime kind of good that most bands can only hope to achieve once, if at all. It's just unreasonable to expect more than that. Anyway, I don't think this album was bad by any means. Upon first listen, I had my doubts, but it really improves with time, like most good albums. I was really skeptical about the Norah Jones collaboration, but it's absolutely amazing. Definitely one of the high points of the album. My favorite song here is "Come On Sister". I like that they're going for a faster pace here, but it's still undeniably their signature sound. I also LOVE the synths. I think it's a perfect compliment to the music, but it really adds something, instead of just being arbitrary. One of my other favorites is "I Can See Your Future". I love the horn and string arrangements. I wish they would have ended with this song instead of "Sunday's Pretty Icons". I'm never really crazy about Stevie's songs, but "I'm Not Living in the Real World" isn't too bad. It's really a pretty solid album. I already love singing along to it.

You might not realize it, but Belle and Sebastian, despite mighty efforts to the contrary, have always been a Singles Band, and one of the best of the lot. They seemingly inherited this royal perch from The Smiths, similarly gifted in similar ways, and carry on the torch defiantly, with much aplomb. Check out their mid-career Singles Comp, "Push Barman to Open Old Wounds" and I defy you to find a bad song, or a sour note.

They also pretty also much invented the swooning modern Chamber Pop genre, fiercer than you think, and let's face it, do it better than anyone else who's tried. They have had great albums ("If You're Feeling Sinister", "Boy with the Arab Strap") and amazing moments on really good albums ("Fold Your Hands Child You Walk Like a Peasant", "The Life Pursuit") but they pretty much stand firm on doing what they do best: writing beautiful, supernaturally catchy pop songs that call forth a gentler, bookish world of Scottish schoolyard ache that we'd all like to spend an afternoon strutting around in, or basking in the glow of, or simply daydreaming about. Their music relies heavily on the sunshiney verve of the late 60's early 70's Top of the Pops sound (with a smattering of Nick Drake, also influential), which these days continually pleases knit-cap wearing hipsters from Williamsburg to Silverlake.

You'd think by now that almost 15 years in, well into their 40's, with a rather different line-up than they started out with--all dreamy and accidental, on 1996's "Tigermilk" (lead singer Stuart Murdoch had just awakened from a years-long battle with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, with his songs already intact, probably why so many of them are about dreaming, sleeping, and waking) that hushed in a new musical era of lyrical sensitivity, that they'd be wearing a bit thin. But no, not Belle and Sebastian. In fact, they seem to be stronger than ever, and ever more aware of their iconic status in the modern annals of postgrad hipsterdom. Take their much-lauded Williamsburg Waterfront show, for instance. First of all they were at...um, The Williamsburg Waterfront. Second of all, they seem to have an almost prescient connection with their fans, playing all the right songs, handing out toys to all the "Baby Belles" (children of Belle and Sebastian fans, of which there were many now) and calling upon JUST the perfect number of cute people to come up and dance with them.

"Write About Love" is actually one of their better proper albums. You might not realize it at first, but then it sinks in. Upon first listen, I was oddly annoyed that they were being so...well, so Belle and Sebastian about the whole thing. But then I mean, what else would you expect? The title track, the opening track ("I Didn't See it Coming") and "I Want the World to Stop" (wow, talk about Top of the Pops) were tunes I had already heard in advance, over the web, and they were the immediate stand-outs. But, actually, those are three amazing Belle and Sebastian songs! Upon further listens, I realized that "The Ghost of Rockschool" is perhaps one of the most brilliantly composed, heartfelt songs of their career (gorgeously sung by Stuart) and "I'm Not Living in the Real World" is a tongue-in-cheek sleeping late Saturday Morning pop gem, and the only time I've really been able to stand Stevie Jackson taking over lead vocals.

I started noticing rather pretty moments on "Calculating Bimbo" and "Sunday's Pretty Icons". I also loved Sarah Martin's star turn on "I Can See Your Future" and I reaaally loved her duet with Murdoch on "I Didn't See it Coming." Martin is an excellent successor to long departed Isobel Campbell (the Shelley Long of indie rock) and she really does balance out the vocals in the band RATHER well. Perhaps Carey Mulligan (although good casting) was a bit unnecessary on the title track, and I just didn't know what to make of Norah Jones turning up to sing on "Little Lou, Ugly Jack, Prophet John" but you know, it's OK. The instrumentals are as strong as ever, with Cooke, Geddes, Jackson and Co. all earning their keep, fleshing out the sound wonderfully (Martin and Cooke do the arrangements), and producer Tony Hoffer, who did their last one, keeping things on track, not overwhelming the band with fussy production, but keeping things cool, letting the band shine.

Murdoch's lyrics are in line with his being, well, in Belle and Sebastian: "Master I love from the ground above / As the stars below as my memory flows / Every picture frame is beating / Louder than time / Every clock in the hall is bending slowly" OR "The seconds move on / (if you watch the clock) / And the sky grows dull / (if you're looking up) / But the girl steps from thrill to thrill / On the tightrope walk".

In any case, Belle and Sebastian are hardly the band that got booted years ago from Sessions on 54th for being too much of a mess. They know what they're good at, they do it well, and they endeavor to enjoy themselves. As their liner notes coyly state: "...if you must, send us your band's latest music...or whatever it is that you're into. We will endeavour to write back, but admittedly the pile grows ever higher and wobblier".

records by Belle and Sebastian, while beautifully crafted works of pop are also kind of the same. This is true about this latest record. The title "Write about love" says it all really, there is also a young woman looking longingly out of a window while doing just that. The music as always is the typical poppy indie fare, like a pop version of stereolab. The music is really wonderful and even Norah Jones sings on one song. While one can never really say that they "rock out" it is a wonderful reminder of what indie music used to be.

I'm a huge Belle & Sebastian fan so I wish I had something better to say about this album. After six years away from recording, you think Stuart Murdoch and the rest of the band would come up with something a little bit better and less phoned-in. Write About Love is a huge disappointment with nary a standout or memorable track among the bunch. Even Belle & Sebastian's previous worst album, Fold Your Hands Child You Walk Like A Peasant, gave us the masterpiece The Model. I also can't believe that a Stevie song, I'm Not Living In The Real World, is my favorite track on this new CD.

I own all of the B&S albums and have seen them in concert twice. They are fabulous and I love every album they have released. They may have different sounds, but for the most part, they are all connected and all fabulous. I think this album is really great. The more recent albums have been a little more "pop" sounding, but that does not bother me. I like it! They also have a couple of songs on this album that feature other artists, such as Norah Jones. How can you not like that!?!

I love this band. Imagine my surprise when I ripped it to my computer and saw that the "genre" designation was ALTERNATIVE & PUNK. Alt? Perhaps. Punk? Only if Nick Drake, Donovan, the Mamas and the Papas could be called punk. This is like all the great Belle & Sebastian albums, a great listening experience that will calm the nerves after... well, after listening to an ALTERNATIVE/PUNK album. I'd say it was their best album in years, but it is really a worthy follow up to the equally brilliant "The Life Pursuit." I've got everything by this band and will continue to be a loyal follower as long as they put out albums like this.

This was an adorable album full of great music that set my mind at ease. I first came across Belle and Sebastian on KCRW and I rushed over here to get their album, and I regret nothing. Not exactly the best music for every moment, but a great thing to listen when you just need a break from your hectic day.

great band, great album (hard for new bands keeping releasing good albums after have a lot album) good songs here, now I have all BS albums... all are great.