Have you noticed that the facial expression Stereophonics fans adopt when talking about Belle And Sebastian is the same one that Daily Mail readers default to when ranting about liberals?
Quite how such an apparently introverted bunch arrived at their current level of popularity is a topic that continues to baffle (and yes, infuriate) many people. But could I be bold enough to suggest that any band who can call to mind Bacharach, Gainsbourg and Salinger all before the chorus kicks in might well find themselves going places?
The first thing you notice about Dear Catastrophe Waitress though is just how dominant the previously low-profile Stuart Murdoch’s voice is on this record. With Isobel Campbell departed and Stevie Jackson taking a backward step (with the exception of the wonderful sing-along ‘Roy Walker’) it’s left to Murdoch (sounding more and more like the bastard Sleazys-drinking lovechild of Nick Drake and Nancy Mitford) to provide the emotional kick. And for those of you convinced that Belle And Sebastian are nothing but fey indie miserabilists, well the defiantly sunlit results may well come as a surprise. Sure, the band’s lyrical eye continues to rest on minor-key heartbreaks (“I’m sorry if he hits you with a full can of Coke/It’s no joke”) but there is joyousness in the music that, at times (‘If She Wants Me’, ‘Wrapped Up In Books’) is almost overwhelmingly poignant. Further evidence that it is a very different beast from 2000’s brooding, Fold Your Hands Child… is provided by ‘I’m A Cuckoo’ – a cheeky re-write of ‘The Boys Are Back In Town’.
Of course, this record will not be for everyone. But it is important to point out that with its warmth, compassion and faith in the powers of a devastating melody it sounds as if that is exactly who it was written for.