Belle & Sebastian....

"If You're Feeling Sinister"

Their best IMO, with no filler tracks, and one of my all-time favorites. But before you go there, let's make sure you've purchased the entire Yo La Tengo library.

(!)

Someone here bought the instrumental YLT soundtrack. Who though? I was hoping for a Nh review. Alex, was it you?

DCW is worth the purchase price if only for "Step Into My Office...."

Cracker.

Regards

Mike

Spending money I don't have on things I don't need.

wow prompt replies - cheers dudes!

Have ordered the two specific ones suggested here: 'dear catastrophe waitress' and 'if your feeling sinister'.

Will let you know my thoughts on them when they arrive!

andy c!

Alex was right: I did recommend the YLT Sounds of the Sound of Science. You can get it via the website. Its completely instrumental and more expansicve than some of their stuff. Lots of ambient noise, loops. The last track on And Then Nothing Turned Itself Inside Out" would fit, although other tracks are a little more angular. Worth ordering.

BTW the Today is The Day ep is quite wonderful. The electric version of Today is the Day from Summer Sun is in my top 5 singles/songs ever!!!!

And for B&S: I'd only keep "If You're Feeling Sinister" if I was having a clear out. If you like B&S have you tried Notwist? A german avant garde version of B&S, in some ways.Try "Neon Golden" - more interesting than anything B&S have done IMO. I think Mum are also like an electronica version of B&S ( and they feature on a B&S cover)

Happy shopping

Kevin

I prefer the 'insipid watery drivel' (Nick's words) of 'Tigermilk' and 'The Boy with the Arab Strap' to the Trever Horn overproduction of 'Dear Catastrophe Waitress'.

In fact I returned 'Waitress' after I found out that Isobel wasn't on it.

willem

DCW has a few great tracks but is patchy like most of their albums. However I can't think of a band I've enjoyed listening to more in the last three or so years (I'm a latecomer too). If you're feelin sinister is great, but so too is the boy with the arab strap. The title track is one of their very best, it also has sleep the clock around and rollercoaster. Buy all their stuff and record a compilation that you'll never tire of listening to. Surprisingly good live too.

roman

I loke Storytelling as well.

Bob

Yeah, you have to get "Sleep The Clock Around", if only for the groovy synths. It's on The Arab Strap...but I can't say I've paid the rest of the album much attention.

I used to like "She's On The Phone" for cheesy pre-clubbing warm-up sessions...but that was then...

If you like this kind of stuff (wistful, happy pop, with a tinge of melancholy), which I do, then you have to consider the following:

• Tahiti 80 - Wallpaper for the Soul; Puzzle
  
• The Sea and Cake - The Sea and Cake; One Bedroom
  
• Sam Prekop (Member of The Sea and Cake) - Sam Prekop
  
• Cosmic Roughriders - Enjoy the Melodic Sunshine
  
• Wheat - Per Second, Per Second, Per Second... Every Second
  
• The Kings of Convenience - Quiet is the New Loud
  
• Eliot Smith - Figure 8
  

-=> Mike Hanson <=-

Mike, I agree.

I like your selections, These are all good (though I don't have the Sea and Cake, Sam Prekop albums).

I would add that as well as Figure 8 you also need to get 'XO' and 'Either/Or'. Elliot Smith is excellent and a definatly has a similar feel to B&S (with a bit of Nick Drake thrown in).

The Cosmic Rough Riders is also an excellent album, and it's a shame it wasn't more successful, very immediate tunes but without so much melacholy (or depth if truth be told) as Elliot Smith.

quote:

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Originally posted by greeny:
I like your selections, These are all good (though I don't have the Sea and Cake, Sam Prekop albums).

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I should qualify that these fall more on the sunny side of melancholy. They also hint a bit at "China Crisis", if you're into that kind of thing. Also, Prekop's self-titled oeuvre is distinctively jazzier.

quote:

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I would add that as well as Figure 8 you also need to get 'XO' and 'Either/Or'. Elliot Smith is excellent and a definatly has a similar feel to B&S (with a bit of Nick Drake thrown in).

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I have to admit to owning only the one album from Smith, and I've really been meaning to get some more. I've also enjoyed Nick Drake whenever a friend's brought over his stuff, but I've not broken down to buy one yet. I'll probably get "Five Leaves Left" first. BTW, if you like Drake and you love to wallow in melancholia, then it doesn't get any better than Beck's "Sea Change".

[list]The Cosmic Rough Riders is also an excellent album, and it's a shame it wasn't more successful, very immediate tunes but without so much melacholy (or depth if truth be told) as Elliot Smith.[/QUOTE]
Yes, as with the Sea and Cake stuff, it's more sunny than sad. I find, though, that music that feels like "summer" is always tinged with a wistful, nostalgic longing for days gone by, but that might just be me.

BTW, I don't thing summer music is always sad, as evidenced by most of Brian Wilson's stuff. Although I enjoy much of the Beach Boy's catalog, I just listened to (and had a good laugh over) his album "Imagination". What a load of tripe!

Finally, I was looking back over my list, and I don't think that the Wheat album fits too well. It's very enjoyable, nonetheless.

-=> Mike Hanson <=-

Mike, I have and enjoy 'Sea Change', but IMO, Nick Drake is a whole league better. You should certainly get some, all three original albums are quite sublime, but definately on the melancholy side of melancholy. I would also probably start with Five Leaves Left or Bryter Later as Pink Moon, despite being brilliant is somewhat starker. (Have you guessed I quite like Nick Drake yet?)

If you like Figure 8 you won't be disaponted with either of the other recomendations above (XO has the edge)

The 'I'm waking up to us' ep condenses all the finest elements of all the B&S albums into 3 songs. Hilarious bittersweet lyrics and some nice doggy photos too...
'Dear catastrophe..' is a good album but suffers from the abscence of Isobel Campbel.

I love them and have all their records.

I'd buy chronologically , starting with Tigermilk - but DON'T FORGET to get the 12" EPS that were all non LP tracks - in many ways better than the LPs. esp the disappointing storyteller -

tim

[QUOTE]Originally posted by Mike Hanson:
If you like this kind of stuff (wistful, happy pop, with a tinge of melancholy), which I do, then you have to consider the following:

I'd say they're nearer to Chairman of the Board these days than Nick Drake -the new LP also rips off the Rupert theme badly -tim

Are Belle and Seb my favorite band? I think they must be as I have all acivly tried to make sure I have averthing they have released.

As a recomedation for a beginer I would say "Feeling Sinister" is the best place to start.

They write great tunes that make you want to sing along (and I cant sing at all) and forget all about this hifi rubish. Of all the songs there are to that personify B&S - The State I am In which is on the Dog on Wheels EP and Tigermilk, and Like Dylan in the Movies which is on Feeling Sinister.

Buy one of the albums and if you like t by all of the others.

If you Like Isobels voice buy all the gentle waves albums as well.

Rememer all of their releases are availible on vinyl as well.

Simon

I just ordered Nick Drake's "Five Leaves Left", Elliot Smith's "XO", B&S's "Dear Catastrophe Waitress", and then rounded it out with the off-topic "Up In Flames" from Manitoba. I'll have to go down to the post office in a week or so to pick them up.

I find it quite frustrating that music stores don't tend to stock the stuff I like anymore.

-=> Mike Hanson <=-

quote:

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Originally posted by alexgerrard:
Are there really no convenient stores in Toronto that stock this stuff?

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There used to be. Most of them have gone almost pure mass-market (HMV is the worst of these). The rest are very hit & miss. Usually, at least some of the stuff will need to be ordered in, so I may as well do it on the net.

Part of the problem is that I get many good suggestions from the guys across the pond, and their choices are often "imports" over here.

-=> Mike Hanson <=-

Mike, This is the best set of albums you'll order this year. I'd be amazed if you didn't like them. Let us know what you think when you've had a few listens.

quote:

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BTW, everyone got their orders in for the Nick Drake odds and sods album "Made to Love Magic"?

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Nick. Do you know whether this will have anything worthwhile or just be a rehash of 'Time of No Reply'.

An essential little B&S release is the EP 'This is just modern rock song'. A really strong selection of tracks on this. I love the closing track slow graffiti. £3.99 on Amazon.
Simon

quote:

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Originally posted by greeny:
Mike, This is the best set of albums you'll order this year. I'd be amazed if you didn't like them. Let us know what you think when you've had a few listens.

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Thanks for the vote of confidence. I got a lot of mileage from Smith's "Figure 8", so I have high hopes for "XO". I've heard most of the Drake album already, but I'm looking forward to listening to it privately, as I've always experienced it in a rapid fire music scenario. As to B&S, I've already got "The Boy With the Arab Strap", which is enjoyable, but not stupendous, so I'm curious to see what I'll think about the new one.

-=> Mike Hanson <=-

Hi,
Over the last two days took delivery 1st of 'dear catastrophe waitress' and then the postie dropped thru the door today 'If you're feeling sinister'.

Initially I like 'sinister' instantly for some reason - seems more instantly accessible. Played 'waitress' twice yesterday and liked it better the 2nd time. Like most stuff I seem to play both cd's like to be played loud!

andy c!

quote:

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Originally posted by andy c:
Like most stuff I seem to play both cd's like to be played loud!

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This is an interesting point. I really like hearing a sense of scale, and feeling totally immersed in the music. Usually this requires that I turn up the system fairly loud. However, my recently acquired Royd RR3s create that sense of scale at much lower volumes, which is probably good for my ears. However, a couple of friends of mine keep turning it up more and more, as they enjoy it more and more. I often wonder why.

Sometimes I think they need to hear some distortion before they accept that it's loud enough. They always lived with systems that can only go "so loud", before they start to overdrive the amp. They've always taken that clipping as a signal that the limit was reached. With my system, however, it's very clear up to quite high volumes (beyond anything there's could do), at which point it's the RR3's woofer that starts doubling, rather than the 135s clipping. Therefore, neither of my friend's ever feels that my system is "loud enough".

-=> Mike Hanson <=-

Hi Mike,
V G point - also some modern cd's I play at diff volume's because of the type/genre of music too. My missus in general likes to listen 'to' the music, as she puts it, without having it 'thrown' at her at the volume levels I like... oh hum

But If i go above 10o'clock on my 282 its REALLY loud IMO anyway and I feel that certain parts of my system start to show strain (180 power amp - which is the next thing to be upgraded also)

Regards,

andy c!