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.
’60s revival sounds resonate throughout Scottish album
Daily Emerald
July 5, 2000
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