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BY CASSIE BALFOUR
For the Daily
Published October 10, 2010
Belle and Sebastian's latest album Write About Love is a perfectly adequate addition to the Scottish twee band's extensive collection — and nothing more. Much of the album is extraordinarily pedestrian and even conservative. Basically, it's coffee shop music: inoffensive, unobtrusive sounds that tend to blend into the background and never manage to wheedle themselves into the conversation.
Belle and Sebastian
Write About Love
Rough Trade
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The band's career has been marked by glowing reviews, which makes its latest passable-but-lukewarm album even more disappointing. Write About Love is less homemade than previous records like The Boy with the Arab Strap, with slick production and some big-name guest stars like the middling Norah Jones.
There are a few fresh sounding songs, including the airy "I Didn't See It Coming" which features charming synth beats and vocals from the vintage-sounding Sarah Martin (Tigermilk, If You’re Feeling Sinister ). On the track, Martin croons about love without frills: "We don't have the money, money makes the wheels and the world go round / Forget about it, honey / Trouble's never far away when you're around.” Veteran singer Stuart Murdoch stays firmly in the background while Martin's voice echoes dreamily throughout the opening track. But some of the best tracks on the album are the ones indulgently steeped in synthy pop and catchy hooks — namely "Come on Sister" and "Sunday's Pretty Icons."
The retro title track "Write About Love" is the highlight and a breath of fresh air. Cheeky lyrics implore listeners to "Write about love / It could be in any tense / But it must make sense." This bouncy, electronic-infused track features some sharp guitar and Carey Mulligan's sepia-tinted voice singing about the modern discontent that comes standard with a 9-to-5 job.
Another standout track is the horn-laden, fast-paced "I Want The World To Stop." Complete with a sexy, slightly ominous bass and periodic well timed clapping, this track seems less restrained and is actually fun — something sorely lacking in the rest of Write About Love.
The album isn't as evocative or thought-provoking as previous works (think If You're Feeling Sinister). Write about Love is lazy and formulaic Belle and Sebastian. Pseudo pop music and lyrics tackle subjects like unrequited love and religion without anything innovative or engaging. This makes a lot of the songs blend together, feeling like a rehash of the band's work.
It gets to the point where some of the album simply acts as a more pleasant version of white noise. "Little Lou, Ugly Jack, Prophet John" is a track you'll have to resist not fast-forwarding through out of boredom. Norah Jones, with her grudgingly admirable voice but insufferably dull music, guests on the song, which secures its spot among Write About Love's most disappointing tracks as Jones and Murdoch sing back and forth at each other at an agonizingly slow pace. The song's only positive feature is that you get to hear "Write About Love" when it finally ends.
Belle and Sebastian stick to a well worn formula for their latest album, and for the most part it works adequately well. Write About Love is consistent with the band's discography, but it doesn't really do much to keep them relevant or cutting edge. One can't help but remember Belle and Sebastian's classic song “If You're Feeling Sinister," in which they sing, "It's bound to be less boring than today / It's bound to be less boring than tomorrow." If only the same couldn't be said for Belle and Sebastian's new duller directions.
