Belle and Sebastian have released a new album called The Life Pursuit. It is pretty much back to basics for this band. It seems that after Dear Catastrophe Waitress (what I consider one of their best) they have decided to give fans what they want, but not exactly what I would have wanted from them. The Life Pursuit sounds a lot like previous albums such as The Boy With the Arab Strap, Tigermilk, and If You’re Feeling Sinister. They are doing what they do best here which is to be a 60’s pop band. All of the tracks are fairly short and there are harmonies and chorus parts aplenty.
I enjoy The Life Pursuit though I don’t think it’s very brave for them. Dear Catastrophe Waitress wasn’t very well received by hardcore B and SB (as my old acquaintance Choggy would refer to them) fans. They weren’t used to something so well produced and put together. Some gems off of this album are White Collar Boy in which there are some excellent vocals laid down (especially the end), The Blues are Still Blue is also really interesting as far as vocals are concerned, and Sukie in the Graveyard. We Are the Sleepyheads is a pretty daring track as far as this album is concerned. What they have done here is what they do best; combine somewhat depressing lyrics with a really happy sounding song, unfourtantly I don’t really feel that way about the rest of the songs on the album. I really enjoy this track for its weirdness and fast pace. Dress Up in You and The Act of the Apostle II are really powerful at evoking emotion.
I think that anyone who has enjoyed this band as long as I have will like The Life Pursuit. It’s a well put together pop album and is what anyone who is familiar with them would expect. Compared with the rest of their work it’s definitely not their strongest as far as lyrics and music are concerned but it’s a nice little listen.
