Belle and Sebastian - Belle and Sebastian Write about Love

Paul's Choice:

Belle and Sebastian - Belle and Sebastian Write about Love

Friend Review:

When I was originally listening to this album, I was trying to think of adjectives that I could use to describe it in the review. So here they are: cute and pleasant. And if you don’t think that describes this album you don’t know shit about music. But anyways, Belle and Sebastian Write about Love is about as accurate of an album title as you could ask for. When you’re sleeping next to your girlfriend and you’re alarm goes off, but you don’t want to get out of bed, this is the album that you put on. There’s nothing too daring or drastic about this album, it’s simple pop songs. BUT, that doesn’t mean this album isn’t enjoyable, especially if you’re a previous B&S fan. I personally am not a fan of Norah Jones’ inclusion on the album, but aside from that I really can’t think of anything to complain about. It’s cute, it’s simple, and it’s fun. From the jumpy twangy sound of “I’m Not Living In The Real World” to the badassness of “I Want The World To Stop” (DAT BASS), this album can keep any indie pop fan entertained.

Friend Rating:

7.8

Hipster Review:

After hearing If You're Feeling Sinister for the first time two years ago, I have had a special place in my heart for the Scottish indie band Belle & Sebastian. Their talent of stringing melodies together to create a brilliantly simple pop song is nothing short of genius, and they have plenty of classic albums under their belt (ignoring the dull Fold Your Hands Child You Look Like a Peasant) to ensure their placement in the canon of history's greatest pop groups.
After their last proper LP The Life Pursuit saw the group experimenting with and expanding their sound (with excellent results), the band took a bit of a detour with the side project God Help The Girl, a girl group-esque album that retained the band's signature pop sound while exploring new dynamics. It was a decent album, though definitely not up to par with what they had done before (it was, however, a lot better than Fold your Hands).
Write About Love explores the ground that was paved by The Life Pursuit, but also partially carries the girl group-dynamic present in God Help The Girl. It's a slightly disappointing record, but only slightly. There are a lot of good songs; in fact, pretty much every song here is good. The only problem is that none are great. There were a lot of times while listening where I felt like the songs either did too much or too little; there wasn't that structural balance that's present on pretty much every other album they've done. Though to be fair, one can't knock them for not making another Sinister (that's only slightly more likely than Weezer making another Blue Album... but I won't get into that now). And like I said, it's not a bad album by any means. It's a worthy entry into their discography, and definitely one of the year's most pleasant pop albums. Overall, Write About Love presents a more accessible, streamlined Belle & Sebastian. And that's better than none at all.

Hipster Rating:

7.9

Coming up next, Apollo Kids by Ghostface Killah!