Belle & Sebastian

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TheWarmth
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Belle & Sebastian

Post by TheWarmth »

New album coming Oct. 11th. Maybe this will be the one to really blow me away. I still love The Life Pursuit. So far this year has been pretty sleepy, despite some very good records.

http://pitchfork.com/news/39763-belle-a ... r-tv-show/
TheWarmth
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Re: Belle & Sebastian

Post by TheWarmth »

No B&S fans here at all?

October also brings the new Clinic, Violens and Warpaint albums, so I'm pretty excited for fall.
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Re: Belle & Sebastian

Post by MODLAB »

I don;t mind saying that I am. I think it should be a good album. Heard a couple of songs already from somewhere.
They still have that twee spirit in them.


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TheWarmth
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Re: Belle & Sebastian

Post by TheWarmth »

I think the "twee" label does them a disservice, although much of their earlier material does fit that bill. Songs like "Stay Loose" from Dear Catastrophe Waitress, with it's sort of glammy Bowie/Thin Lizzy vibe prove that there is so much more to B&S.
toomilk
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Re: Belle & Sebastian

Post by toomilk »

Looking forward to it. God Help The Girl was a project that was completely lost on me.
mc
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Re: Belle & Sebastian

Post by mc »

I'm very much looking forward to the new B&S. Tigermilk and If You're Feeling Sinister are two of my all-time favourite albums. Then they survived a mid-career slump and got back on funky form with Dear Catastrophe Waitress and The Life Pursuit. Cannae wait! :D
mojo filters
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Re: Belle & Sebastian

Post by mojo filters »

I'm not only looking forward to the new album, but also the tour later in the year. At the Sage in December they'll apparently be accompanied by a small orchestral ensemble, which sounds rather nice.

Whilst The Life Pursuit was a nice change of direction in distilling the music back to simpler instrumentation, I really hope that for the new album this signals a return to the full strings and baroque ensemble that helped me appreciate B&S in the first place.

Out of context (having not heard anything recent) Write About Love doesn't seem a very strong title, although I guess it could be related to Stuart Murdoch's recent nuptials. Any links, pointers etc to sources for some new stuff would be handy if anyone has suggestions :)
I'm like Evel Knievel, I get paid for the attempt. I didn't promise this shit would be good!
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Zenchan
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Re: Belle & Sebastian

Post by Zenchan »

Dear Catastrophe Waitress is a real lost classic from the noughties. Absolutely fantastic album.
helterskelter
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Re: Belle & Sebastian

Post by helterskelter »

Oh I love God Help the Girl - I would recommend giving it another listen - some lovely pop songs on there with his original cool lyrics. I really liked their last lp as well - hoping to go and see them but nearest with orchestra is a monday night in Birmingham which doesn't really appeal.

On a different note - if you are a child like me and enjoy swearing in songs then check this out from Ceelo - his new single which presumably will included lots of bleeps - good song though too
http://www.facebook.com/?ref=home#!/pro ... =569618973
BzaInSpace
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Re: Belle & Sebastian

Post by BzaInSpace »

Mojo - where have you been fella? :D

'Lazy Line Painter Jane' is one of the best ever singles from Scotland...or anywhere.

I also really liked 'Step Into My Office Baby'...
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Re: Belle & Sebastian

Post by MODLAB »

BzaInSpace wrote: 'Lazy Line Painter Jane'

Was listening to this, in the car this morning.
I have to agree with you on that one.


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TheWarmth
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Re: Belle & Sebastian

Post by TheWarmth »

I have tickets to see them here in Chicago in October. I think it's actually the night before the new album comes out. The last time I saw them was on the Dear Catastrophe Waitress tour and they were superb. I believe they ended the night with a spot-on cover of "The Boys Are Back In Town."
toomilk
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Re: Belle & Sebastian

Post by toomilk »

TheWarmth wrote:I have tickets to see them here in Chicago in October. I think it's actually the night before the new album comes out. The last time I saw them was on the Dear Catastrophe Waitress tour and they were superb. I believe they ended the night with a spot-on cover of "The Boys Are Back In Town."
If you have their "special edition" version of their BBC Sessions album that came out about a year ago, the second disc is a show from Belfast from 2001 that ends with the boy are back in town. I think I've listened to the actual BBC session disc 2 or 3 times, but the second disc probably 40 times. It captures something great...like an experience. Their banter, covers, excitement, etc. Their songs are played sloppy and too fast, but it sounds perfect to me.
TheWarmth
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Re: Belle & Sebastian

Post by TheWarmth »

I've got the BBC Sessions on vinyl, which doesn't have all that extra material. I didn't even know that special cd version existed.
TheWarmth
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Re: Belle & Sebastian

Post by TheWarmth »

Check this half-hour video out. Really well done and the song at the very end is stunning. There aren't very many bands around that can write a pop song like this:

http://pitchfork.com/news/39945-hear-tw ... ian-songs/
sunray
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Re: Belle & Sebastian

Post by sunray »

Fancy a festival on a cruise around the Med? Now you can, thanks to B&S.

http://www.theboatyweekender.com/
Nineteen...Nineteen...Six Five
Timothytix
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Belle Sebastian

Post by Timothytix »

you mean "shit"? "storytelling", or whatever, was terrible. plus, isobels gone now. belle & sebastian is dead to me now.
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Belle Sebastian

Post by bennieZes »

I read that they are to record an album with the producer who is
responsible for T.a.t.u.s "all the things she said" and Frankie goes to Hollywood.

should be... interesting?
mojo filters
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Re: Belle Sebastian

Post by mojo filters »

bennieZes wrote: Fri Apr 26, 2019 2:07 pm I read that they are to record an album with the producer who is
responsible for T.a.t.u.s "all the things she said" and Frankie goes to Hollywood.

should be... interesting?
A thorough Google search throws up nothing regarding this idea, nor is it mentioned to those on their email list, or on fan sites, and so forth. Is this up-to-date information, or old news about the album referenced below...which has already been recorded?

Belle & Sebastian made an "interesting" album with Trevor Horn, called Dear Catastrophe Waitress - released in 2003 to significant critical acclaim, alongside a better commercial reception compared with their previous 2000 album Fold Your Hands Child, You Walk Like A Peasant (I'm not counting their 2002 Storytelling soundtrack here).

Dear Catastrophe Waitress was not just an "interesting" album, it was a triumphant return to form. Without retreading old ground, the band retained Stuart Murdoch's key influences ranging from Love's Forever Changes to The Smiths - this time incorporating Trevor Horn's signature production techniques, to great effect across the entire album.

For example, the title track is a perfect, modern and epic baroque pop classic. Both the lyrics and musical composition elements should be familiar to fans of Stuart Murdoch's writing style.

Trevor Horn lavishly complemented this in the studio, using his well known production techniques - for example creating epic, Spector-esque arrangements via huge, complex and lush orchestral parts.

Most notable are the prominent string and horn section recordings, scored by (now ex-) trumpet player Mick Cooke, beautifully influenced by David Angel's arrangements which so perfectly scored Arthur Lee and Bryan MacLean's timeless 1967 compositions.

Trevor Horn creates both a classic early solo Scott Walker type of huge soundscape, combined with even more epic-sounding, modern widescreen-style string flourishes, alongside enormous and cinematic horns - Horn's production taking advantage of both the full frequency spectrum plus dramatic dynamic range, for a huge, recognisable signature sound, balanced with nuanced effect to inform the consistently "indie" pop sensibilities of Belle & Sebastian.

Fortunately the album showed a wide range of Belle & Sebastian's songwriting talent, complimented in various ways by the well known production stylings of Trevor Horn.

From the enormous sonics of the title track, to the pared-back simple solo acoustic guitar and vox fragility of Piazza, New York Catcher - Stuart Murdoch et al continued to demonstrate their unfailing abilities on Dear Catastrophe Waitress, in writing and recording timeless classic tracks, whose broad appeal never detracts from their weighty substance.

If the band are about to record *another* album with Trevor Horn, I'm confident they'll continue progressing the inimitable Belle & Sebastian musical canon in new directions, potentially well described by another key influence on Stuart's writing...

For his anthemic farewell to the end of a notable decade that impacted music more than any preceding it, on his Simon & Garfunkel swansong The Boxer Paul Simon sang:

Nor is it strange
After changes upon changes
We are more or less the same
After changes we are more or less the same
I'm like Evel Knievel, I get paid for the attempt. I didn't promise this shit would be good!
Dave Chappelle
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