BELLE AND SEBASTIAN - IF YOU'RE FEELING SINISTER
The Enclave
The first time I heard Belle and Sebastian I didn't know whether to laugh or cry. The song was Like Dylan in the Movies, and in my opinion it was terrible. It sounded like REALLY bad Bob Dylan, the singer had a lisp; in short, I thought it was crap. Several days later though, the song was still in my head. And the more I heard it, the more fond of it I became. The singer's lisp became familiar, even endearing. So I bought the album and listened to the whole thing, and am I ever glad I did. It's easy to see why Q Magazine called the album a "folk-pop masterpiece". Really. Hailing from England, Belle and Sebastian are at least five people though there might be more, it's hard to tell. The liner notes don't contain any sort of references to who plays what instrument, let alone who the band actually is made up of, aside from a sort of story about what some of the members did before joining the band. Anyway, this is a great album with beautiful songs borrowing heavily from American folk but just catchy enough to be described as "pop" as well. Me and the Major is an energetic harmonica and guitar-driven number about the generation gap. Fox in the Snow is slower, more thoughtful, and much sadder. It also features another singer toward the end, which makes me wonder why the guy with the lisp sings instead of the other guy, but who cares, he sounds good, once you get used to it. Get Me Away From Here, I'm Dying is a bittersweet fairytale with thought- provoking lyrics and a cerebration of naivety, while If You're Feeling Sinister opens with what sounds like children in a playground and takes a peek into the lives of various people. Nice piano on that one. I'm not sure what it is with these guys and sad songs, but both The Boy Done Wrong Again and Judy and the Dream of Horses, the last two songs on the disc are sad enough to draw tears and at the same time beautiful enough to capture your heart. I've never heard any album as tragically beautiful as this one. If you can remain open-minded about it, If You're Feeling Sinister will be one amazing album. The hardest part is giving it a chance at the beginning but trust me, Belle and Sebastian grow on you - but only if you are open to something different than the current crop of music the major labels are offering.
Review by Aram at: Frames Per Second
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