Glasgow, Scotland, never had a summer of love. But if the fourth album from its beloved Belle & Sebastian, “Fold Your Hands Child, You Walk Like a Peasant,” is any indication of things to come, Glasgow might soon be the place to go donning flowers in your hair.
The feel-good, retro-pop music of the eight piece ensemble is led by frontman Stuart Murdoch’s focused, seemingly effortless songwriting skills.
From the Byrds-like opener “I Fought in a War” to the sassy Wurlitzer riff of “Don’t Leave the Light On, Baby,” Murdoch’s dead pan voice and potent lyrics permeate the entire record.
The instrumental bliss is, however, a deceptive facade. The somber number, “The Chalet Lines,” is a haunting tale of rape. The delicate delivery and piercing lyrics combine to make this song an instant classic.
“Family Tree” is a Murdoch composition sung by Isobel Campbell about being kicked out of school and pokes fun at academic delinquents. Belle & Sebastian’s scholastic pursuits are summed up when Campbell sings, “We do chemistry, biology and math/I want poetry and music and some laughs/and I don’t think it’s an awful lot to ask.”
Other Belle & Sebastian numbers include the most 60s sounding song on the record (and that is saying a lot), “The Wrong Girl” written by Stevie Jackson. Campbell’s “Beyond the Sunrise” is a sub-par effort, but the album quickly rebounds with Sarah Martin’s lovely “Waiting for the Moon to Rise.”
Other highlights include Murdoch’s hilarious pop song “The Model” about a “Girl next door who’s famous for showing her chest.”
The orchestral arrangements mixed with Nick-Drake-inspired melodies make this album a very addictive listening experience. One listen in a record store might be enough to make believers out of those new to Belle & Sebastian. Under their pop sensibilities lies a brooding, tortured intellectual mind that will likely keep the hippies at bay and keep Glasgow with the same collective disposition as Seattle in the winter.