Belle and Sebastian: The Life Pursuit

CML call number: CD/ROCK/Belle
Artist website: http://www.belleandsebastian.com/
Kelefa Sanneh wrote in the New York Times, 2/2/06: "For many years, the Scottish indie band Belle and Sebastian has been a quiet, wee group adored by a loud, not-so-wee cult of fans. … Loving Belle and Sebastian meant loving Stuart Murdoch's murmured tales of disappointment and transcendence. … 'The Life Pursuit' … includes some of the best songs in the band's catalog. … The album includes what is, by some measures, the band's most popular song yet: 'Funny Little Frog,' the first single, which entered the British charts at No. 13. Over a swinging bass line and some bright keyboards, Mr. Murdoch evokes a love unrequited and quite possibly unacknowledged. … 'White Collar Boy' … tells a lurid story of crime and seduction and punishment. But there's a familiar whistleable melody under those greasy guitars. … [T]he album's best song, 'Dress Up in You,' is classic, old-fashioned Belle and Sebastian. It tells a quiet, petulant little story about two women, a 'star' and a 'loser,' rivals who can't quite bring themselves to hate each other. …"