Tag: Belle and Sebastian

FT5: My Most Divisive Bands

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It’s interesting being a huge music fan. You come across bands that you absolutely adore, and you rush to make mixes for your friends who ultimately decide that they hate the one song you were most excited for them to fall in love with when you made it.  I started thumbing through my catalog and the Internet, diligently searching for the bands in my collection that I love, but I feel people hate; I also looked at bands on the net I know people love, but I hate.  Here’s my list of the Top 5.

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Belle and Sebastian – Write About Love

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Rating: ★★★★½

Belle and Sebastian are the darlings of the indie pop scene, which has been basically known for the past decade. This being their eighth studio release, they reinforce that they are not a band plagued by maturity and ten years of being indie pop superstars, they are Belle and Sebastian: always fresh and never ceasing to make youthful music.

The first track is “I Didn’t See It Coming” and starts the album with Sarah Martin’s vocals leading, which is a surprising, as one would think Stuart Murdoch’s infamous tone would be first heard. It turns out to be an enticing and creative surprise, as she and Stuart harmonize and play off of each other’s words, with bluesy guitar work in the background. During the build to the chorus they nod to everyone’s current economic situation: “we don’t have the money/ money makes the wheels of nowhere go ‘round,” but instead of this song becoming a pity party, these two tell you to “forget about it, honey,” and the song builds to a fantastic and joyful climax, with synthesizer echoing, giving it that twee-pop sound. Belle and Sebastian continue this happy mood with “Come On Sister,” which brings more synth and poppy goodness, sure to have you bobbing your head to the soft drum beats.

Then things slow things down a little with “Calculating Bimbo.” The percussion elements are more clearly heard in this song, and the slow drum rolls through as Murdoch pushes his voice to the limit and meets up with backing vocals for more harmonious moments. More of these vocally excellent moments come on “I Want The World To Stop,” where Stevie Jackson joins Martin in echoing Murdoch and you want to echo him too.

The rest of this album continues in this style, with “Write About Love, that has sort of the same idea of “I Didn’t See It Coming” and it makes you feel all warm and fuzzy inside, as if all of your problems don’t seem so bad anymore. This is the general feel and tone of this whole work; looking past those things that put you down with a proverbial screw it; I’m not going to be down.

On the last two songs, Belle and Sebastian finish ever so strongly. In “I Can See Your Future,” they incorporate majestic horn work and some orchestral elements effortlessly so that this complex song feels simple and elegant. But Belle and Sebastian aren’t done, they bring a tangy guitar sound and whispery vocals on “Sunday’s Pretty Icons,” finishing in their classic style, and leaving you wanting more, in a totally good way.

Belle and Sebastian have come a long way since Tigermilk, but have shown that they will always make excellent, witty and classic indie pop that can brighten any day. If Write About Love isn’t proof of this, I’m not sure what is. As expected, it is most definitely a contender for a spot on my list of top albums this year.

[audio:https://austintownhall.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/09/write-about-love-hq.mp3]

Download: Belle and Sebastian – Write About Love [MP3]

FT5: Guys I’d Go Gay For

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We’ve dedicated some time in the past to Hot Ladies of Indie Rock, which, well, is totally acceptable for a heterosexual male.  But, one of my homosexual brethren, Marcus, brought to my attention that I need to give some respect to some of the men of indie rock.  So, in discussion with my lady friend, I decided upon the five guys that I would be willing to go gay for, with, of course, the lady’s permission. It might sound a touch ridiculous, but come on, its a fun subject to discuss, albeit, one that will likely not come to fruition.

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New Tunes from Belle and Sebastian

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Okay, so this might be an obligatory/redundant post, seeing as this was everywhere today, but I had to toss it up, if only to have it on our radio for you to fall in love with during your day. It’s a new track called “Write About Love” from Belle and Sebastian‘s new record, Write About Love.  I’m going to say it, this record already sounds like its going to be awesome, full of bubblegum goodness. This might just play on repeat as I go to bed now.

[audio:https://austintownhall.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/09/write-about-love-hq.mp3]

Download: Belle and Sebastian – Write About Love [MP3]

New Belle and Sebastian Tunes

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This might be old news at this point in the day, but as a long time devotee, I have to post about it.  Belle and Sebastian have a new album B&S Write About Love coming out October 12th, and as one of the more clever creative groups out there, they’ve created a 30 minute video that features two of the new songs–which are brilliant!  You can claim not to like them, and claim its not newsworthy, but no one has been as consistently good as this band since 96, and I mean no one.  Watch the video HERE.

FTC: Orange Juice

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Our From the Closet feature this week involves one of those bands I’ve been jamming to for quite some time, and it’s a band that recently made news this week, as it was announced that Domino Records would be releasing Coals to Newcastle on October 9th, a six disc box set including all sorts of work from Orange Juice.  Personally, I first got into the band via Belle and Sebastian, who I feel the band used a lot as a reference point in their early songwriting.  Singer Edwyn Collins sort of distanced the band from the rest of the post-punk bands in the early 80s by taking a more direct, almost tongue-in-cheek, approach to writing songs–as opposed to political minded lyrics.  Their combination of R&B, funk, soul and punk always made them a lot more danceable, and a hell of a lot more endearing than many of their peers.  If you like anything involving twee, you need to visit this band, and if you just like great music, then you need to check this group out. The following track isn’t my personal favorite (“Love Sick” is), but it’s a good starting point for casual listeners. Can’t wait to get our hands on all the gems from the newest box set.

[audio:https://austintownhall.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/08/07-Rip-It-Up.mp3]

Download: Orange Juice – Rip It Up [MP3]

Avi Buffalo – s/t

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Rating: ★★★★☆

Eventually you run across something unexpected and bewildering.  Such is the case for Avi Buffalo, who have released their self-titled album on Sub Pop.  The band originated with a kid in Long Beach named Avi who gathered his friends together, creating one of those albums you vaguely remember hearing about, but are bound to come across again and again in the next few years.

You have to wait almost an entire minute before you get to meet the band on opener “Truth Sets In,” but the warm gang vocals, and the odd harmonic guitar picking create a respectable opener; it’s not entirely overbearing, just an assuming number serving as a brief introduction to the band before they kick your teeth in with elation.  And you’ll soon be blown away by “What’s In It For,” the following song.  Something about Avi’s falsetto resembles the early Shins recordings (also on Sub Pop), and as you listen, you sort of get the feeling that Avi Buffalo will be one of those albums just like Oh, Inverted World that grows and grows until you have to listen to it once a week for the rest of your life.

You can feel all sorts of influences on this record, which is not a big surprise from a young artist such as Avi. “Five Little Sluts” begins with a bit of homage to Belle and Sebastian before it ambles down its own path.  “Jessica” pulls out some vocals reminiscent of David Vandervelde.  Even with the allusions to other artists, these songs take on a life all their own, making the entirety of the album familiar, all the while establishing the band with an original sound to which only they can lay claim.

“One Last” mixes up the game, using a female vocal to add a different texture to Avi Buffalo. It’s a playful folk song utilizing a bar-room piano sound to give the song a little pace.  It’s not the only number here that shows the range of the group, as the bedroom quiet of “Can’t I Know” adds yet another approach for the group. But, just as you thought they’d get all quiet on you, the band brings out “Remember Last Time.”  This pop gem has great vocal performances and clanging guitars that will ring in your ears for hours, and that’s really all you can ask for, right?  It might drag on a bit too long in lieu of a slight jam, but you can’t take that away from the opening moments of the track.   Then it all closes again with the dual vocal approach of “Where’s Your Dirty Mind.”  Gently strummed guitars and piano create the skeletal backbone of this one, but the vocals are the most endearing element of it all.  Rebecca Coleman has an angelic voice that will stay with you even when the song (and album) end.

It’s interesting listening to this album.  It has flourishes of great beauty, as well as moments of sprawling pop, yet it all sounds like a concisely constructed album geared to let the songwriting speak for itself.  While at times Avi Buffalo seem a bit unfocused, as if they’re unsure of their identity, what you do get is a young band who have an extremely bright future ahead of them.  If this album is anything, its a breath of fresh air in a lo-fi world, and one that just might make the long haul in your record collection.

[audio:https://austintownhall.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/04/02-Whats-In-It-For_-1.mp3]

Download: Avi Buffalo – What’s In It For [MP3]

FT5: Hangover Albums

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In retrospect, it was the free tequila at that third South By Southwest party that did it. And there was that energy drink you downed, despite the fact you’d never heard of it (hey, it was free). Of course the Southern Comfort at party five didn’t help either. Nor did the eleven beers between party one and party seven (3 micro-brews, 2 Shiners, 5 PBRs, 1 new crap beer Budweiser is pushing). The fact that this unholy blend of alcohol is now fighting it out with the bratwurst and street pizza you consumed yesterday is only complicating matters. Stomach hates you. Brain not functioning. Unidentified bruises abound. Water and aspirin cannot save you. All this and your friend has the nerve to say: “I’m not hung over at all, I feel great!” Resist the urge to punch him in his stupid face. Go and put on a nice soft record. Follow the jump for 5 Albums that will help you cope with a hangover.
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The Crayon Fields – All The Pleasures of the World

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thumb_crayonRating: ★★★★½

In a year that offered lots of mediocre albums, 2009 had so many new records that it was hard to digest them all in due time for reviews.  Yet, I always intended to touch on this album, as I’ve loved The Crayon Fields since Animal Bells came out a few years back. 

“Mirrorball” made the list of our Top 50 songs of 2009, and it still draws a lot of power, months after it first hit our ears.  Singer Geoff O’ Connor has a real breathy vocal projection (like a pop whisperer), one that will recall Colin Bluntstone of The Zombies for many listeners…it’s just one of the many touchstones for the group.

One thing that differentiates the characterstics on All the Pleasures of the World from Animal Bells is that there seems to be a little bit of darkness lingering beneath each of the songs.  On Animal Bells, you had songs like “Living So Well,” which were full of sunny beach pop and gang vocal effects, but this doesn’t fit here.  On the album’s title track, amidst singing of pleasures, O’ Connor seems sort of resigned to see the pleasures, though not necessarily take part in them.  Perhaps the extra layering of instruments has made a more dense soundscape from which the band took off this round (some of the best being from the solid bass work). Just a guess.

When one comes across songs like “Celebrate” you can see how a Clientele reference might creep up in a review, but you might also note that the similarites are existant, yet polarizing.  Where The Clientele often feels extremely cold, and their melodies have a sense of brooding danger, The Crayon Fields put a little bit of energy into their artistry.  By this I really mean one thing: The Clientele gives you foggy melodies; The Crayon Fields blow the fog away with a touch of beach-side sunshine. 

You’ll also find a lot of the guitar-work of Glaswegians Belle and Sebastian lying beneath this album.  You can almost pick up on the homage being given in songs such as “Disappear” where there is a hint of swing and sway to the general atmospheric creation.  It’s not a bad thing to highlight, as I’m a fan of the former band, which also probably shows why I’m a huge fan of the latter.  Really, is there any ground for originality nowadays?

So, here I am, a few months after the release, though you will still find it hard to get a hold of All the Pleasures of the World in the U.S.  Be that as it may, you’ll do yourself, and the dollar, justice if you go out to your local hotspot and purchase the latest from The Crayon Fields, and the last one while you’re at it.

[audio:https://austintownhall.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/03/crayon-fields-mirror-ball-7_-version.mp3]

Download: The Crayon Fields – Mirror Ball [MP3]

Pants Yell! – Received Pronunciation

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pantsyell-received

Rating: ★★★★☆

Amidst the world of lo-fi stands one Slumberland Records band who is willing to go against the grain.   Ladies and gentleman we present to you, Pants Yell!. Well, we don’t actually present them to you, as Received Pronunciation is the group’s third proper release.  Still, after being all over the SR catalogue this year, and I assure you, we’re still into it, we now have a new record to fall in love with as the year draws to an end.

You see, when opening track “Frank and Sandy” comes through your speaker, you’re not sure what you were expecting, but you most assuredly weren’t awaiting the haphazard delivery of the lyrics, let alone the song itself.  It just seems to sort of traipse along, ever really reaching any sort of climax.  Such restraint, however, is actually refreshing.

You can find much clarity and precision on every single song that plays through this album.  If you added heavy string arrangements, and perhaps a few more witticisms you might call this a Belle and Sebastian record.  Still, that is lazy journalism, but if I told you that they sound like a much more confident Oh No! Oh My! you would probably be a little confused.  More so, there is a particular youthfulness in this that B&S have moved beyond, perhaps even a little naivete, but such innocence, especially in the banality of the lyrics really makes the listening experience one of the most enjoyable of the last several months.  Take the humorous “Spider,” which seems like an elementary student channeling Calvin Johnson.

This album just continually seems to give back to the listener, each song seemingly a touch different then the last, while consistently staying in the same place.  Take “Someone Loves You” versus “Not Wrong,” two songs that have similarity in song structure, but the hurried percussion in the former picks up the tempo, creating a song that sounds nothing like the tune that will follow two tracks later.  And as the album draws near to an end, it all seems so familiar.  Perhaps those who fell in love with Jeremy Jay will find that they can take his promise and craft, hand it over to a set of vibrant like-minded youths, and it will come out like Received Pronunciation.

Everyone is sure to grab ahold of this band, as they are clearly ready to step into a light of their own.  Three albums into their career, and it seems that the group can’t go too wrong.  Let’s cross our fingers that Pants Yell! continue to build upon the talent and joy displayed in their latest effort, Received Pronunciation.

[audio:https://austintownhall.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/11/06-Someone-Loves-You.mp3]

Download: Pants Yell! – Someone Loves You [MP3]

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