Belle And Sebastian - Girls In Peacetime Want To Dance (Album Review)
Monday, 26 January 2015
Written by Huw Baines
‘Girls In Peacetime Want To Dance’, Belle and Sebastian’s first record in five years, is proof that substance always breathes new life into style. One of pop’s stated aims is to engage hips and feet along with brain, and here they have crafted a collection that does just that. You know what, Belle and Sebastian can dance.
Having charted a path through much of pop’s patchwork quilt history over the past couple of decades, carving a near iconic niche of their own along the way, it’s no great surprise that this latest flourish is accomplished in fine fashion, boosted by ebullient production from Ben H Allen, a former accomplice of Animal Collective and Gnarls Barkley.
Even at its most stately, its most Belle and Sebastian, on the beautiful opening song, Nobody’s Empire, the bass dances, slipping into view beneath a bank of soulful backing vocals.
Stuart Murdoch’s words, as a counterpoint, are an unflinchingly personal view of his chronic fatigue syndrome. “I was like a child, I was light as straw when my father lifted me up there,” he sings. “Took me to a place where they checked my body. My soul was floating in thin air.”
The Party Line rises from a soupy late night thud into a confident, all-eggs-in-one-basket disco stomp, one driven by splashes of synth and a genuinely funky bassline. Amid the swirling, ethereal vocals, though, the lyric drips with anxious energy.
A short hop from disco finds the the band enjoying the fruits of Europop and poetry on Enter Sylvia Plath - “Why has no-one done that before?” you cry - and even recalling the velour-clad delights of Eurovision in the ‘70s with The Everlasting Muse. Play For Today will delight ABBA devotees.
The Cat With The Cream glimmers at the record’s core and affords a rare dip into the realm of politics, following up Murdoch’s entry into the debate on Scottish independence and firing shots at the UK’s shitheel parties: “Down amongst the old city chambers. Men in frocks debate all the policy changes. Everybody bet on the boom and got busted.”
It’s a fluid journey, one guided by the sort of deft melodic writing that’s characterised Belle and Sebastian since the Jeepster days. ‘Girls In Peacetime Want To Dance’ has the smarts and the moves to get under your skin.
Belle and Sebastian Upcoming Tour Dates are as follows:
Sun May 03 2015 - CARDIFF St David's Hall
Mon May 04 2015 - BRISTOL Colston Hall
Tue May 05 2015 - PORTSMOUTH Portsmouth Guildhall
Thu May 07 2015 - CAMBRIDGE Cambridge Corn Exchange
Fri May 08 2015 - NORWICH Open
Sun May 10 2015 - BIRMINGHAM Symphony Hall
Mon May 11 2015 - LONDON Methodist Central Hall
Tue May 12 2015 - LONDON Methodist Central Hall
Thu May 14 2015 - MANCHESTER Albert Hall
Fri May 15 2015 - MANCHESTER Albert Hall
Sat May 16 2015 - NEWCASTLE UPON TYNE City Hall
Mon May 18 2015 - BUXTON Opera House
Tue May 19 2015 - LEEDS Town Hall
Fri May 22 2015 - GLASGOW SSE Hydro
Sun May 24 2015 - LIVERPOOL Docklands
Click here to compare & buy Belle And Sebastian Tickets at Stereoboard.com.
We don't run any advertising! Our editorial content is solely funded by lovely people like yourself using Stereoboard's listings when buying tickets for live events. To keep supporting us, next time you're looking for concert, festival, sport or theatre tickets, please search for "Stereoboard". It costs you nothing, you may find a better price than the usual outlets, and save yourself from waiting in an endless queue on Friday mornings as we list ALL available sellers!
.jpg)
