After the release of 2003's Dear Catastrophe Waitress, frowned upon by many die-hard fans for its slick production (by none other than Trevor Horn, of TATU fame), Belle and Sebastian were faced with the dilemma of either returning to the twee, naïve pop of the If You're Feeling Sinister era, ... Read review
Time has revealed Belle&Sebastians reputation for a rather wimpy indieness to be more the ... more
result of their relative inexperience than any real predilection for twee juvenilia. On their seventh album,The Life Pursuit, we find these errant Scots further b...
Postage & Packaging: £1.21 Availability: Usually dispatched within 1-2 business days...
Time has revealed Belle&Sebastians reputation for a rather wimpy indieness to be more the ... more
result of their relative inexperience than any real predilection for twee juvenilia. On their seventh album,The Life Pursuit, we find these errant Scots further b...
Postage & Packaging: £1.21 Availability: Usually dispatched within 1-2 business days...
Time has revealed Belle & Sebastians reputation for a rather wimpy indieness to be more ... more
the result of their relative inexperience than any real predilection for twee juvenilia. On their seventh album, The Life Pursuit, we find these errant Scots furthe...
Postage & Packaging: Free! Availability: Usually dispatched within 24 hours...
Time has revealed Belle & Sebastians reputation for a rather wimpy indieness to be more ... more
the result of their relative inexperience than any real predilection for twee juvenilia. On their seventh album, The Life Pursuit, we find these errant Scots furthe...
Postage & Packaging: Free! Availability: Usually dispatched within 24 hours...
Act Of The Apostle Part 1 Another Sunny Day White Collar Boy The Blues Are Still Blue ... more
Dress Up In You Sukie In The Graveyard We Are The Sleepyheads Song For Sunshine Funny Little Frog To Be Myself Completely Act Of The Apostle Part 2 For The Price Of A...
Postage & Packaging: £0.00 Availability: 3-5 working days
Advantages: Sill doing what they do best; brilliant pop tunes Disadvantages: A couple of weak links.
After the release of 2003's Dear Catastrophe Waitress, frowned upon by many die-hard fans for its slick production (by none other than Trevor Horn, of TATU fame), Belle and Sebastian were faced with the dilemma of either returning to the twee, naïve pop of the If You're Feeling Sinister era, or continuing along the orchestral slap-in-the-face vein that had gained many new fans, including myself. The result is a toned down "…waitress"; less ... ...handshake and cup of tea.
…which is what Belle and Sebastian do best. Whilst keeping their musical cauldron bubbling with polished harmonies, strings, brass and everything that we had come to expect from the Glaswegians, Belle and Sebastian have regained their adolescent charms that won over the lonely hearts and geeky minds of their fanbase.
Highlights include…
Another Sunny Day, a sweet and innocent pop song, ... more
After the release of 2003's Dear Catastrophe Waitress, frowned upon by many die-hard fans for its slick production (by none other than Trevor Horn, of TATU fame), Belle and Sebastian were faced with the dilemma of either returning to the twee, naïve pop of the If You're Feeling Sinister era, or continuing along the orchestral slap-in-the-face vein that had gained many new fans, including myself. The result is a toned down "…waitress"; less of an orchestral slap in the face, more an orchestral handshake and cup of tea.
…which is what Belle and Sebastian do best. Whilst keeping their musical cauldron bubbling with polished harmonies, strings, brass and everything that we had come to expect from the Glaswegians, Belle and Sebastian have regained their adolescent charms that won over the lonely hearts and geeky minds of their fanbase.
Highlights include… Another Sunny Day, a sweet and innocent pop song, pulling all the right strings without, somehow, sounding clichéd. The word painting of a church-bell-style guitar solo makes me smile every time.
White Collar Boy, a typically Belle and Sebastian take on a twisted love story. 10/10 for imagination.
Sukie in the Graveyard The perfect blend of great song writing and clever arrangement create a relatively ambitious hit, which is guaranteed to get you dancing… or at least moving in your seat. Anyway, with an opening couplet like; "Sukie was the kid, she liked to hangout in the graveyard She did brass rubbings, she learned you never had to press hard" you can't go wrong.
Yes, there are a couple of weak links. Mornington Crescent displays a distinct lack of ambition, on an otherwise purposeful album, and seems a rather disappointingly trudgy end to a great record. The large quantities of swearing shocked me too, coming from the most innocent band in the business, but the juxtaposition of some expletives with singing horn solos etc. is quite humourous, in its own little way!
The DVD copy is well worth getting, as it contains live versions of many of the songs recorded for the BBS at Maida Vale, and this is where Belle and Sebastian really excel. There are also hours of enjoyment to be had from reading the Q&A to the band that are published on the sleeve. There is a real sense that Belle and Sebastian are who their music portrays them to be, which is reassuring.
All in all, it perhaps lacks the single gems like "If She Wants Me" and "Stay Loose" that "…waitress" gave us, but in terms of an all round album, it certainly acheives more than its predecessor.
Advantages: There best album to date.Great live DVD Disadvantages: None
Just as I was beeginning to worry about Belle and Sebastian they bounce back with this there best album by far.High praise when ther others have all been a class above the oppostions.However even when friends were beginning to say much of it sounds similar after a while my defence was beginning to sound weak as I was starting to see where they were coming from.
Well not 'The LifePursuit'.Stylistically it is different and the album remains diverse without losing the essence of what a Belle and Sebastian album quintisentially is, melodic,touching,lyrically astute and maybe even twee.That said that is why I love them along with the rest of the bands loyal fans. So 'The LifePursuit' brings us 13 superbly crafted songs.From the start of the haunting 'Act Of The Apostle' I was gripped 'morning prayers took the girl unawares,she was ...
Advantages: A wide range of instruments, genres and voices. The more you listen the more you like. Disadvantages: I don't think the male voices stand up quite as well as the female
Belle and Sebastian?s frontman Stuart Murdoch flexes his indie-pop muscle within a much broader harmonic sphere. When asked about this self-titled debut (Murdoch's first new venture since 'The LifePursuit' from Belle and Sebastian in 2006), he said "I was out for a run and I got this tune in my head." Wow I wish I could the say the same for me. He went on to say that "It occurred to me that it wasn't a Belle and Sebastien song. I could hear female voices and strings, I could hear the whole thing, but I couldn't envisage myself singing it with the group." The other members of the Glaswegian indie-pop band Belle and Sebastian, Chris Geddes (keyboards), Richard Colburn (drums), Bobby Kildea (guitar and bass), Mick Cooke (trumpet and bass), Sarah Martin (violin, keyboards, guitar and vocals) and Stevie Jackson (vocals and guitar) did help ...
Product Information for "Life Pursuit, The - Belle & Sebastian" »
Product details
Title
Life Pursuit, The
Performer
Belle & Sebastian
Genre
Rock & Pop
Sub Genre
Alternative
Release Date
06/02/2006
Recomended Retail Price
13.99 GBP
Original Release Year
2006
Label / Distributor
Rough Trade / PIAS UK/Sony DADC
Producer
Tony Hoffer
Pieces in Set
1
Studio / Live
Studio
Format
Performer
EAN
5050159828029
Catalogue Number
RTRADCD 280
Additional notes
Album Notes
'The Life Pursuit' is the seventh album from Scottish indie stalwarts Belle & Sebastian. With their Smiths-meet-Simon & Garfunkel melodies, Belle & Sebastian have forged a reputation for crafting sensitive-yet-subtle songs that pull at the heartstrings without sacrificing their keen pop sensibilities. Includes the single 'Funny Little Frog'.
Titles on disc 1
1.
Act Of The Apostle (part 1)
2.
Another Sunny Day
3.
White Collar Boy
4.
Blues Are Still Blue
5.
Dress Up In You
6.
Sukie In The Graveyard
7.
We Are The Sleepyheads
8.
Song For Sunshine
9.
Funny Little Frog
10.
To Be Myself Completely
11.
Act Of The Apostle (part 2)
12.
For The Price Of A Cup Of A Tea
13.
Mornington Crescent
Ciao
Listed on Ciao since
07/06/2006
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