New Music Review: Belle & Sebastian-Write About Love

Belle & Sebastian-Write About Love
On their eighth studio album, Belle and Sebastian start things off with what has to be one of my favorite songs of the year so far. I love when a song slowly builds with each instrument and vocal coming in at the precise, correct moment, and while "I Didn't See It Coming" may not have the climax of a "Stairway To Heaven", it unwraps itself into one of the most gorgeous odes to a yearning to love despite transcontinental circumstances I've heard in a long time. Sarah Martin's sweet vocals singing "But we don't have the money/Money makes the wheels and the world go round/Forget about it honey" and then lead vocalist Stuart Murdoch crooning in with "Make me dance I want to surrender". The song is an absolute treat for those who love their love songs constructed in such a wonderful manner.

And what else would you expect from a band that acted as shelter from the storm of overblown alternative acts all the way back in 1996 with "If You're Feeling Sinister". They've had peaks and valleys through the years and have got the knack of writing a song like "I Didn't See It Coming" effortlessly. My problem is the rest of the album comes nowhere near the dizzying heights of the opener, nor do some of the songs come close to their last release "The Life Pursuit", which found the band joyfully crafting their sound to white boy soul perfection, an album that stands as my favorite in their catalog. "Write About Love" comes off in some places as Belle & Sebastian on cruise control. And while that's not bad, it just doesn't feel like a full release you're going to be going back to in several years time as you may have on other releases from the band.

Take for instance some of the duets on "Write About Love". They bring in Norah Jones on "Little Lou, Ugly Jack, Prophet John" which sounds like it could be a good marriage, but in the end comes off as a bad, unforgettable 70's soft rock song. Not as bad is the title track with actress Carey Mulligan playfully singing along with Murdoch "I hate my job/I'm working way too much/Everyday I'm stuck in the office". It's Belle & Sebastian by the numbers, an ode to a certain sixties sound that has been long forgotten. It sounds so familiar that it almost doesn't sound original or sadly, necessary. Also guilty of sounding just a little too familiar is guitarist Stevie Jackson's "I'm Not Living In The Real World" which just totally apes mod aged The Who from the guitar line through the woos in between verses and choruses. Sure it sounds alright, but these moments don't equal "Sukie In The Graveyard", "I'm A Cuckoo" or "The Blues Are Still Blue" from their previous couple of releases.

There are a few treats on "Write About Love', I mean, it's impossible to get through this album without finding some good as well. "Come On Sister" shows Murdoch in fine storytelling form, "I Want The World Stop" has a bass line that transforms the song into a slice of pure sixties coolness where go-go dancers could shake their tush to, and the closer "Sunday's Pretty Icons" has a great guitar line and the lyrics leave a comforting wrap up to these love songs with Murdoch singing "Every love you have ever forgot/Every person that you ever despised is forgiven."

In the end the title "Belle & Sebastian Write About Love" almost becomes redundant. Haven't they always written about love? Would it have worked better if they wrote about trucks or cookbook recipes? Eh, download the opener "I Didn't See It Coming" and a couple of the other tunes I liked above if you want the group at it's fine form of what you'd expect. It's not a total disappointment. It's not a band going through the motions either. But that precious sound they've perfected before is completely uneven. Hopefully, it won't be another four to five year wait for another mixed bag release.

Grade: B

JHO Picks:
I Didn't See It Coming
Come On Sister
I Want The World To Stop
Sunday's Pretty Icons

Source: http://www.jhostation.com/2010/10/new-music-review-belle-sebastian-write.html

PAS/CAL Steve Adey Ladytron Magneta Lane