Any band that has survived 10 years with only slight alterations in the original lineup and has produced a steady number of first-rate releases could be credited merely for that. Belle and Sebastian, who started as the final project for a college music business course in Glasgow, Scotland, have much more than continuous devotion on their resume. What started as an underground pop cult in 1996 quickly grew to global recognition and a well-established international fan base. Fast-forward to 2006, and the band is releasing its seventh full-length, The Life Pursuit.
If you peel off the twee and chamber pop labels the band has accumulated over the years (or were perhaps born with) you will find juicy and contagious pop melodies dappled with a bit of soul, jam and Stuart Murdoch's clever tongue-in-cheek lyrics. The somber mood of Belle and Sebastian's early days seems to be left for good after the band somewhere around 2002 was inadvertently slipped the happy pill. This new outfit may perhaps be fitting a little loose on the band who takes its name from a French children's show and is precious like glass, but the outcome is intriguing. Preciousness undermined, it remains the somewhat subtly wicked backside of Belle and Sebastian that makes the band still appealing after a decade in the business.
The album's first single, "Funny Little Frog," should not have any trouble making the charts; it has a catchy melody, groovy guitars and a clap sequence incorporated. This is one among several upbeat tracks on the album with a noteworthy '70s, live free, Cali-pop feel. It is a little bit scary and just about as intriguing that when Murdoch sings "Honey lovin' you is the greatest thing / I get to be myself and I get to sing" it feels (and honestly almost sounds) like Mama Cass. And this is not the only song that sounds like it could be played on an oldies radio channel. Whether Murdoch has been collaborating with dead hippies, there is certainly something liberating about Belle and Sebastian's sound the past few years. The Life Pursuit continues in the merrier spirit of Dear Catastrophe Waitress and marks the most danceable Belle and Sebastian record to date.
Though the happy tunes are pleasant, the record lacks a distinguished, low-key song to capture the eminent Belle and Sebastian feel. "Dress up in You" is an honorable attempt, but it is not up to par with past performances. More precisely, the majority of the weak songs are the slow ones. At "To be myself completely," the band reaches a creative standstill and seems not only to have left their melancholic side behind, but unable to evoke it when desired. Though this may be hard for Tigermilk cult kids to digest, some form of development should after all be the desired route for any artist, and Belle and Sebastian have managed to mature without getting dull or compromising creativity for CD sales. In spite of the change, the essence of Belle and Sebastian remains intact in Murdoch's lyrical wit and the band's sweet, solidified melodies.
It is inevitable to admit that Murdoch, despite the instrumental eclecticism of the band and the occasional alternation with violinist Sarah Stevens on vocals, is still the driving force behind the band. Writing songs with the adherence to detail of a short story, childlike sincerity and straight up, bare wit, Murdoch is a truly skilled lyricist. Every Belle and Sebastian record has at least a few obscenities hiding behind the innocent melody that fit perfectly like effortless punch lines into the well-polished sound and soft vocals. Another unusual trait of Murdoch's lyrics is his frequent use of second- and first-person narration, a perspective that is used far too seldom in song lyrics.
Murdoch has the ability to come off as cynical without being depressing, profound but not pathetic, funny, delicate and as guilty as a naughty child. The Life Pursuit is neither the funniest nor most poetic album to date but features a decent selection of both with comedic lines such as, "Sukie was the kid, she liked to hang out at the art school / She didn't enroll, but she wiped the floor with all the arseholes" and more thoughtfully weighed lines like, "We've been in this town so long we may as well be dead / So long as people turn their heads / And cross the street whenever we walk on by."
The Life Pursuit will hardly go down as a Belle and Sebastian classic, but it is a respectable accomplishment by this veteran band, uplifted by Murdoch's solid storytelling. Listeners simply need to realize that The Life Pursuit, though it does not break any new ground musically, is still fresh reinvention for Belle and Sebastian, who remain a safe bet for melodious, sweet and imaginative pop.
Rating: 3 out of 5
