Collage: Bell & Sebastian

Belle and Sebastian is a band from Glasgow. Led by guitarist/vocalist Stuart Murdoch, the seven-piece band has an intimate, majestic sound that is equal parts folk-rock and ‘60s pop. Murdoch has a gift not only for whimsy and surrealism, but also for odd, unsettling lyrical detail which keeps the songs grounded in a tangible reality.

Based in Glasgow, Scotland, Belle and Sebastian released their first two albums in 1996: Tigermilk, recorded over three days, and If You’re Feeling Sinister, recorded in a week, at the peak of the chamber pop movement. At first, some critics in Britain’s music weeklies tied the band into the subgenre, yet the group was too pretty, too delicate, to bear that label. 

Through their first two years of public existence, the band shielded their personalities, submitting publicity photos featuring a girl, who was a friend of the band and reluctantly posing for photo shoots. Furthermore, they performed in odd venues, playing not only the standard coffeehouses and cafes, but also homes, church halls, and libraries.

"Marx and Engels" one of my favorites is a lithe piano-led pretty-gem, the kind that made this U.K. collective cult-famous.

It's yet three more minutes of pure bliss, punctuated by a sumptuous turn on the ivories at the close. You'll never see this on an LP, but that just makes it more of must purchase

Belle & Sebastian quietly built a dedicated following after the release of their second album, If You're Feeling Sinister, as word of mouth spread from indie kids to record collectors to store clerks to critics. By the end of 1997, the Scottish septet had developed a passionate following .

If You're Feeling Sinister proved this as did the three excellent EPs that followed, increasing expectations for The Boy With the Arab Strap.

Even if the album doesn't match the peerless If You're Feeling Sinister or break new ground for Belle & Sebastian, it's not a sophomore slump. From the Motown stomp of "Dirty Dream Number Two" to the Paul Simon shuffle of the title track, there is more musical texture on Boy than Sinister, but much of this was already explored on the EPs, which means Arab Strap essentially consolidates the group's talents.

The band works together to always create music iconic to its time. With songs like Piazza, New York Catcher, Dear Catastrophe Waitress, You’re Covers Blown and Mead & Potatoes there is something for everyone. I hope that you enjoy them as much as I have!

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