The Life PursuitBelle and Sebastian
Matador, 2006
Numerical Feelings: 7.6
I was pretty excited about this at first, which is nice since with previous new B&S albums I usually, you know, lose a bit of my fondness for the human endeavor of art. Seriously how can the man behind Sinister and 3.6.9 front with shit like that Waitress album? The nice thing about Life Pursuit being, while Murdoch and Co. still can't hit it straight and delicate and timelessly sweet, at least all the frilly eccentric arrangements and gushing energy are complimenting solid chamber-pop hooks and tangible song concepts.
But I also thought Life Pursuit heralded a return to the sweeping, self-contained world-in-sounds that Sinister has, albeit one much more foreign to my atheist-white-boy sensibilities than that of the former: but, as months go by, the seams in Pursuit seem to rift, each little horn and string melody shivering out of orbit with the rest of the song, the music unraveling itself apart with time whereas Sinister and, particularly, the 3.6.9 e.p., condensed, each element revealing stunning weight and relevance to the whole -- until soon much of their new album seems as awkward and contrived as the preceding two, in terms, at least, of its superficial parts. Still, the majority of these songs ride on strong melodies, and carry the band's bubbling overflow of eager energy with a fair amount of homespun grace. The result is rather good, on the whole, and not very damaging to one's faith in the beauty of the human soul at all.
-6.4.2006
The Life Pursuit is supposed to be considered a continuation of Belle and Sebastian's revitalization, begun with their last album, but man I hated that last album. Life Pursuit is the first good whole album this band has made in roughly 10 years. Despite numbers like that, Belle and Sebastian are still in like my top 10 of bands -- and numbers like that, reveal what powerful and lasting music they did produce in 96 and 97. Which is really all you will ever need to know about them.
Track Listing:
01 Act of the Apostle
02 Another Sunny Day*
03 White Collar Boy
04 The Blues Are Still Blue
05 Dress up in You
06 Sukie in the Graveyard*
07 We Are the Sleepyheads
08 Song for Sunshine
09 Funny Little Frog
10 To Be Myself Completely
11 Act of the Apostle ii*
12 For the Price of a Cup of Tea
13 Mornington Crescent
(*: an asterik)
Track Listing:
01 Act of the Apostle
02 Another Sunny Day*
03 White Collar Boy
04 The Blues Are Still Blue
05 Dress up in You
06 Sukie in the Graveyard*
07 We Are the Sleepyheads
08 Song for Sunshine
09 Funny Little Frog
10 To Be Myself Completely
11 Act of the Apostle ii*
12 For the Price of a Cup of Tea
13 Mornington Crescent
(*: an asterik)