Like their fellow indie class of 1996 alumnus Wes Anderson, Belle & Sebastian have created their own precious world out of the remnants of ‘60s pop culture, filtering it through the aesthetics of the ‘80s underground, maintaining a style and sensibility through shifting fashions. A new Belle & Sebastian album doesn’t surprise; it reassures while managing to find a few new wrinkles in its vintage threads. Write About Love, their seventh studio album, is cut from the same cloth as its 2006 predecessor, The Life Pursuit -- it’s also produced by Tony Hoffer, who gives Belle & Sebastian a crisp, clean, full sound without turning them antiseptic, with much of it swinging like London in the mid-‘60s -- but it has its own distinct character. The group dials down the light glam highlights of The Life Pursuit in favor of revisiting a light Tamla-Motown bounce colored by other faded ‘60s touches like echo, cheap organs, and 12-string guitars, a slight shift in palette that is nevertheless as palpable as the mild silver-screen obsession that runs underneath these songs, surfacing in the lead character of “Calculating Bimbo” and elsewhere in duets with Norah Jones and Carey Mulligan. Mainly, though, what impresses about Write About Love is its consistency, both within the album itself and within Belle & Sebastian’s work at large. Song for song, it’s as strong as any of their records -- if anything, these 11 songs are the tightest they have ever been -- and Stuart Murdoch remains faithful to the aesthetic he essayed at the outset of his career, finding sustenance in the fine details, his obsessions carrying the weight of passion. And unlike Anderson, Murdoch’s music is never insular -- after all, he fronts a big group, one where other singers take the lead and that group spirit remains warm, even infectious, even when the sound essentially remains the same. © Stephen Thomas Erlewine /TiVo

Stuart Murdoch and his mates in Glasgow's long-running pop auteurs Belle and Sebastian sound more jubilant today than ever. In 2021, after 26 years and 11 albums together, COVID forced Murdoch (vocals, guitar) along with original members, Stevie Jackson (guitar), Sarah Martin (vocals, violin), Chris Geddes (keyboards) and Richard Colburn (drums) as well as relatively new additions Bobby Kildea (guitar) and Dave McGowan (guitar, bass) to stay home in Scotland and record a new album. Some songs turned into A Bit of Previous, released in May 2022, and another album's worth of music from those fertile sessions has now become Late Developers. Far from being an odds and sods collection, these 11 tracks are an equally rich lode of Belle and Sebastian exploring pop music's prismatic spectrum. Echoes of the band's folkier past appear in "Will I Tell You a Secret," where a harpsichord effect on the keyboard gives the tune a 1960s chamber pop flavor. With horns, backing vocals and the pace of a classic R&B ballad "The Evening Star" changes the focus to Motown with a dash of Memphis soul snap. Gush is the emotional response that comes to mind when the handclaps, chiming guitars and luscious vocal harmonies of "Give A Little Time'' make their case: "Speculate, accumulate/ Embrace the love, erase the hate." But not all the words here ignore the more jagged aspects of the emotional inner life that has always been Belle and Sebastian's constant subject. In the sweet and sour vein of what their official bio calls "coaxing you towards inner peace with … a melody that lifts you out of the murk of all that terrifying truth," the very Smiths-esque "When We Were Very Young" finds Murdoch, who now has "kids and dystopia," lamenting against a perky melody: "I wish I could be content/ With the football scores/ I wish I could be content with my daily chores/ With my daily worship of the sublime/ I wish I could walk away/ From my scars and sores." Produced by the band and Brian McNeill with help from a quartet of mixers, the result is bright, full, and in-your-face. The cleverly titled Late Developers is filled with joy and now the wisdom of age; Belle and Sebastian continue to make smart, stylish pop music look easy. © Robert Baird/Qobuz

How do you age and grow old when you’ve so beautifully embodied youth? This is a question that arises for most rock musicians, but it feels particularly pertinent to Belle and Sebastian. At the end of 90s, this Scottish band (re)invented the holiday romance in song form; equal parts awkward and romantic. With a sound similar to the Beach Boys (if they were taken out of California) or perhaps The Smiths (if they had a shy, folksy sound), Belle and Sebastian became one of the largest small bands out there: a totem of indie music. A quarter of a century later, the band has lost a few fans (and almost as much hair). Their music hangs in a fragile balance, one that doesn’t entertain self-parody or excess. By going back to basics, the band has succeeded in making one of the best albums of their adult life. A Bit Of Previous was recorded at their home in Glasgow. Frontman Stuart Murdoch sings out of tune from the second track, If They’re Shooting At You, and that’s no bad thing. It’s a sign that the band is keeping things fresh, reclaiming that amateurism that the world initially fell in love with. They employ a fairly wide musical palette—from country to electro-pop to soul—and the band delivers its choruses as well as they always have; with an airy demeanour, softened edges and a slightly broken smile. This is a delicious pop album. © Stéphane Deschamps/Qobuz   

In the year of his 90th birthday (which he would have celebrated on the 23rd of September 2020 had he not died in 2004), Ray Charles is honoured with a new 90-track compilation box set. Just another compilation like all the rest? Yes and no. Ray Charles is undoubtedly one of the most-compiled artists in the history of music. Published by Tangerine, the label that the musician set up at the end of the 50s to keep the rights to his songs, this box set starts out like all the others: with the post-Atlantic hits, Georgia On My Mind, Hit The Road Jack, One Mint Julep, Busted... These are timeless treasures of proto-soul, but there doesn't seem to be much novelty here. The rest is much more interesting, and much rarer: tracks recorded between the second half of the 1960s and the 2000s, many of which were only released on vinyl, never reissued on CD and until now unavailable on digital. This is the first time that Ray Charles' lesser-known years have been given the compilation treatment in this way, and it is a revelation. In the 90s and 2000s, the production of his songs had a synthetic feel, and they did not age too well. These rarer songs are often hidden gems of southern soul, flavoured with country and wrapped in sumptuous symphonic orchestrations. Whether he is singing the Muppets (It's Ain't Easy Being Green) or Gershwin (Summertime, a duet with Cleo Laine), Ray Charles is always deeply moving. Now, the dream is to hear reissues of all these albums in their entirety. © Stéphane Deschamps/Qobuz

Belle & Sebastian's second record, If You're Feeling Sinister, is, for all intents and purposes, really their first, since their debut in 1996 was not heard outside of privileged inner circles. And If You're Feeling Sinister really did have quite a bit of an impact upon its release in 1996, largely because during the first half of the '90s the whimsy and preciousness that had been an integral part of alternative music was suppressed by grunge. Whimsy and preciousness are an integral part of If You're Feeling Sinister, along with clever wit and gentle, intricate arrangements -- a wonderful blend of the Smiths and Simon & Garfunkel, to be reductive. Even if it's firmly within the college, bed-sit tradition, and is unabashedly retrogressive, that gives Sinister a special, timeless character that's enhanced by Stuart Murdoch's wonderful, lively songwriting. Blessed with an impish sense of humor, a sly turn of phrase, and an alluringly fey voice, he gives this record a real sense of backbone, in that its humor is far more biting than the music appears and the music is far more substantial that it initially seems. Sinister plays like a great forgotten album, couched in '80s indie, '90s attitude, and '60s folk-pop. It's beautifully out of time, and even if other Belle & Sebastian albums sound like it, this is where they achieved a sense of grace.© Stephen Thomas Erlewine /TiVo

Though not exactly known as tastemakers behind the turntables, Belle & Sebastian have arguably been at the forefront of the indie rock movement of the '90s and 2000s with their ultra-cool sound and outstanding ability to pen a tune. However, Azuli takes a chance on the group for the latest installment of their LateNightTales series and the risk more than pays off -- as it is easily one of the most diverse and enjoyable collections in the label's entire catalog (which is already quite impressive). The group pedals from indie hip-hop (RJD2, Lootpack) to Stereolab to Johnny Cash to Steve Miller and Donovan, and somehow turns in an impressive tapestry of a mixtape ideal for background music at small get-togethers. Also included to great surprise is the Kenny Dixon, Jr. remix of "People Make the World Go Round," the Stylistics anthem covered by Innerzone Orchestra (but which in the liner notes is repeatedly credited to Paperclip People, another of Innerzone Orchestra founder Carl Craig's many aliases). There's also an exclusive cover of Trio Esperança's "Cassaco Marron" by the band, which is a respectful nod to the original.© Rob Theakston /TiVo

Belle & Sebastian never felt tied down to the album as the ultimate expression of a band's worth. Put simply, they didn't feel the need to hold back their best songs for albums; the fourth song on a four-song EP was just as likely to be among their finest as any other. For proof check out Push Barman to Open Old Wounds, a handy compilation of the group's EPs recorded between 1997 and 2001 for Jeepster and Matador. Beginning with Dog on Wheels all the way through, the band used their EPs as means of exploring new sounds and angles (check the groovy '60s spy song "Legal Man," the epic-in-length-and-scope "This Is Just a Modern Love Song," the bubbly sunshine pop of "I Love My Car," or the silly instrumental "Judy Is a Dick Slap") as well as an outlet for great songs that wouldn't fit on albums, like "Slow Graffiti," "A Century of Fakers," and "Lazy Line Painter Jane." Some of the tracks here would be pillars on a B&S greatest-hits compilation too: fantastic songs like "Dog on Wheels," "The State I Am In," "I'm Waking Up to Us," and "Put the Book Back on the Shelf." Push Barman to Open Old Wounds is essential listening, the third disc you should get by the band behind If You're Feeling Sinister and Dear Catastrophe Waitress. Even if you already have all the EPs, you'll want to get this disc. It is reasonably priced, housed in the usual attractive package, and hearing all the songs back to back reinforces what an amazing group Belle & Sebastian is, was, and will always be.© Tim Sendra /TiVo

Back for their second round of this long-running curated megamix, indie pop superstars Belle & Sebastian spin a characteristically warm and exciting cross section of pop-informed sounds from all over the map on Late Night Tales, Vol. 2. As is a tradition with the series, the selectors record an exclusive cover and include it somewhere in the mix. Belle & Sebastian's take on the Primitives' high-speed '80s hit "Crash" transforms the song into a comparatively woozy midtempo jaunt. Despite the somewhat saloon-ready reading, this slightly lethargic rendition retains the bright, beaming quality of the original even when stripping away the urgency and energy. The rest of the mix is a pleasant patchwork of eclecticism, ranging from '70s deep-groove funk instrumentals from Dorothy Ashby and Roland Vincent to 2010s indie dream pop electro from Gold Panda and Toro y Moi. The entire mix is strong and widely varied, but some standout moments include the pre-industrial piano crunch of the Pop Group's "Savage Sea," an aggressive dub mix of Buzzcock Pete Shelley's solo hit "Homosapien," and several bursts of '60s sunshine pop taken directly from 45s. Broadcast make two appearances, opening the set and again in the middle with the moody instrumental "Chord Simple." It's one of many instrumental cuts that bridge the other tunes over the mostly well-flowing continuum of the mix. In the extensive liner notes by B&S bandmembers, they talk about their inspirations or memories about some of the selections, generally nerding out pretty hard about the lineage of way-out pop sounds that they themselves have become mired in.© Fred Thomas /TiVo

Belle & Sebastian quietly built a dedicated following after the release of their second album, If You're Feeling Sinister, as word of mouth spread from indie kids to record collectors to store clerks to critics. By the end of 1997, the Scottish septet had developed a following every bit as passionate as the Smiths did at their peak, which is only appropriate since leader Stuart Murdoch is as wittily literate as Morrissey. If You're Feeling Sinister proved this as did the three excellent EPs that followed, increasing expectations for The Boy With the Arab Strap. Even if the album doesn't match the peerless If You're Feeling Sinister or break new ground for Belle & Sebastian, it's not a sophomore slump. From the Motown stomp of "Dirty Dream Number Two" to the Paul Simon shuffle of the title track, there is more musical texture on Boy than Sinister, but much of this was already explored on the EPs, which means Arab Strap essentially consolidates the group's talents. Murdoch recedes from the spotlight on occasion, letting Steve Jackson deliver two music-biz spiels and giving Isobel Campbell space to shine with the lilting "Is It Wicked Not to Care?" All three songs are highlights, but Murdoch's songs still attract the most attention. His vicious wit, often overlooked in favor of his poetic narratives, surfaces on the title track, while "It Could Have Been a Brilliant Career" summarizes his effortless gift for elegant melancholia. Such small, precious gems are what Belle & Sebastian are all about, and The Boy With the Arab Strap offers another round of timeless, endlessly fascinating folk-pop treasures. © Stephen Thomas Erlewine /TiVo