Belle And Sebastian music review: Comforting, sparkling nostalgia
Revisiting If You’re Feeling Sinister thirty years after its release, Belle And Sebastian perform a radiant run-through that feels fresh all while honouring the album’s tender tones
‘Welcome to the second recording session for this new band called Belle And Sebastian,’ Stuart Murdoch jokes. For a tour marking 30 years since the release of cult favourites If You’re Feeling Sinister and Tigermilk, this nostalgic revisit of early material is a reminder of when his band of indie popsters first tackled the murky music industry. Performing the former album in its entirety, they swap release-day anecdotes, from Stevie Jackson’s dole office trip to the particularities of Murdoch’s lunch.
Beneath backdrops of film reels and deep crimson, ‘Stars Of Track And Field’ opens with drum fills and husky harmonies. Instrumental embellishments seem spontaneous, honouring the album’s lived-in feel. The self-described ‘bitchy’ classic ‘Get Me Away From Here, I’m Dying’ gleams with vitality, a portrait of their early industry days. When Murdoch jumps to the title track, its jauntiness competes with gritty lyrics scrutinising religion. The fierce storytelling proves why it conquers time’s test.
Murdoch is a sprightly host, accidentally starting crowd efforts to bring his opera-singing cousin on stage, and searching for his wife among concert goers amid ‘Piazza, New York Catcher’. The energy slightly falters during the post-If You’re Feeling Sinister set, particularly when a mellow closer follows ‘The Boy With The Arab Strap’. Still, with fans boogieing on stage, there is an ever-present radiance. Murdoch muses on the longevity of LPs, and the bizarre sensation of retreading old footsteps. But in breathing new life into a beloved album, this tour is not a rehash of old glory days, but a sparkling space for shared stories.
Belle And Sebastian perform If You’re Feeling Sinister, reviewed at Fringe By The Sea.