in pursuit of ease
The word ‘twee’ has often been used in oder to describe Belle and Sebastian’s sound. This album does sounds pretty similar to their previous ones, but it also has some of the musical punch they’ve been lacking, at least since If You’re Feeling Sinister. Having said this, they still manage to retain the fragility and the lyrical irreverence which has always defined their sound. Perhaps this could be defined as its ‘tweeness’.
Lead track Act of The Apostle Part 1 is structured around the nagging riff which provides the intro. The effortless harmonies combine with lyrics about a girl who “was late for class and she knew it” to produce a perfect piece of sunny 60s pop. And that’s just the point. All of this has been done before, and the result is very accomplished, very pleasing music, which asks only the minimal effort or interaction from the listener.
Admittedly, this isn’t an entirely bad thing, but nor does it make for a life changing aural experience. That said, Dress Up In You is truly moving, beginning with a pared down backing rhythm, focused around Murdoch lilting “I’m the singer, I’m the singer in the band/You’re a loser, I won’t dismiss you out of hand”, before building to a lazy (in the best possible way), jazzy climax through which the band’s trademark harmonies again slide.
Song For Sunshine is travelling in the direction of funk/reggae (as far as Belle and Sebastian could ever be ‘funk’), although the rich, layered Beach Boys harmonies ensure it never quite arrives, which is probably a good thing for all concerned. This is new ground for the band, if not for music, and Murdoch’s vocals are as consistently strong as ever.
So while The Life Pursuit is never going to change anything of any particular significance, it is worth listening to The Blues Are Still Blue for a taste of the, um, blues. Sounds just like (very) early period Kinks, before they got all famous and started singing about cups of tea, English lawns and cricket.
Equally, White Collar Boy is another typically Kinks-ish three minutes about “community service” and being “chained to a girl who would kill you with a look”, the whole thing being based around the extraordinariness of the ordinary life of an office worker “on the run from the law”. For The Price of A Cup Of Tea is utterly indebted to Have A Cup A Tea, which is again a product of Ray Davis’ once-pioneering pop group.
It’s kind of a shame that Belle and Sebastian haven’t moved on much since then, but before we get too cynical it’s worth considering the valuable role they play in the musical market. The world needs music that’s easy to listen to that’s not ‘easy listening’, and Belle and Sebastian do just what they set out to do as well as they have always done it, and probably always will.
2nd Feb 2006