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Album Review: Belle And Sebastian - A Bit Of Previous
Belle And Sebastian- A Bit Of Previous
Young and Stupid; If They’re Shooting At You; Talk To Me Talk To Me; Reclaim The Night; Do It For Your Country; Prophets On Hold; Unnecessary Drama; Come On Home; A World Without You; Deathbed Of My Dreams; Sea of Sorrow; Working Boy In New York City
Matador - Catalogue NumberOLE1845LPE
A Bit Of Previous is the ninth studio album by Belle and Sebastian and their first full length album in seven years. Was it worth the wait?Undoubtedly, yes. It is a collection of jaunty, melodic and memorable songs that make you smile.
The album sees the band taking on age and getting older, with the opening track
Young and Stupid with sees them looking back. A haunting violin underpins the track as the lyric relates “ Now we’re old with creaking bones, some with partners some alone, some with kids and some with dogs, getting through the nightly slog, everything is fine when you’re young and stupid”
The arrangements may be playful but there is always an underlying gravity as the pace slows down on the ballad
If They’re Shouting At You.
There are plenty of other highlights too such as
Unnecessary Drama which is a heavier track than you might expect from Belle and Sebastian.
My favourite out of these twelve tracks is the whimsical yet uplifting
Come On Home, the track shines like the summer sunshine. It reminds me slightly of the type of songThe Style Council used to do with their brand of soulful pop.
The album concludes with
Working Boy In New York which has an escapist bliss of soulful flute with a funky backbeat
The album is a fine return on a set of songs that once heard are hard to forget.
The band appear on tour with dates in the north:
17 November - Sheffield Academy
18 November - Liverpool Olympia
19 November - Hull University Asylum
24 November - Newcastle City Hall
25 November - Manchester Academy
Tickets from:
www.BelleandSebastian.com