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Avg: 4.5 (215 ratings)
- Date Released: September 8, 1998
- Genre: Alternative/Punk
- Style: Indie Rock, Indie Pop
- Label: Matador
Bristling with smarts and passive aggression, call it twee at your own risk
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We Say...
After If You're Feeling Sinister made Belle & Sebastian a favorite of indie rockers who wouldn't be caught dead without a book, anywhere or anytime, The Boy with the Arab Strap upped the band's pop ante (at least a little bit). Less precious and crisper than its predecessor, the album suggests a real working band more than an occasional gathering of shy friends. "It Could Have Been A Brilliant Career" starts in classic Belle & Sebastian fashion: over a meek, delicate pastiche of folk guitars and piano, Stuart Murdoch spins a tale about an uneasy artist selling sham paintings while putting in hours at the Safeway. "Sleep the Clock Around" might be the most instantly delicious of Belle & Sebastian's many instantly delicious songs; it's a dreamy meld of Nick Drake wispiness and Stereolab chug, shaded with electric piano and horns. As usual, Stuart Murdoch's highlights ("Summer Wasting," the quasi-Motown biggie "Dirty Dream Number Two," the title track) are best, but his bandmates offer up worthy lyrics and vocals in "Is It Wicked Not to Care?" and "Seymour Stein." (Less so in the almost impossibly twee "Chickfactor.") Other Belle & Sebastian albums are dotted with songs at least as good, but this is their most consistent and winning record.
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They Say...
Belle & Sebastian quietly built a dedicated following after the release of their second album, If You're Feeling Sinister, as word of mouth spread from indie kids to record collectors to store clerks to critics. By the end of 1997, the Scottish septet had developed a following every bit as passionate as the Smiths did at their peak, which is only appropriate since leader Stuart Murdoch is as wittily literate as Morrissey. If You're Feeling Sinister proved this as did the three excellent EPs that followed, increasing expectations for The Boy With the Arab Strap. Even if the album doesn't match the peerless If You're Feeling Sinister or break new ground for Belle & Sebastian, it's not a sophomore slump. From the Motown stomp of "Dirty Dream Number Two" to the Paul Simon shuffle of the title track, there is more musical texture on Boy than Sinister, but much of this was already explored on the EPs, which means Arab Strap essentially consolidates the group's talents. Murdoch recedes from the spotlight on occasion, letting Steve Jackson deliver two music-biz spiels and giving Isobel Campbell space to shine with the lilting "Is It Wicked Not to Care?" All three songs are highlights, but Murdoch's songs still attract the most attention. His vicious wit, often overlooked in favor of his poetic narratives, surfaces on the title track, while "It Could Have Been a Brilliant Career" summarizes his effortless gift for elegant melancholia. Such small, precious gems are what Belle & Sebastian are all about, and The Boy With the Arab Strap offers another round of timeless, endlessly fascinating folk-pop treasures.
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You Say...
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Rolling Stone
| 01. |  |
It Could Have Been A Brilliant Career |
2:23 |  |
| 02. | |
Sleep The Clock Around |
4:58 | |
| 03. | |
Is It Wicked Not To Care? |
3:22 | |
| 04. | |
Ease Your Feet In The Sea |
3:35 | |
| 05. | |
A Summer Wasting |
2:06 | |
| 06. | |
Seymour Stein |
4:42 | |
| 07. | |
A Space Boy Dream |
3:02 | |
| 08. | |
Dirty Dream Number 2 |
4:14 | |
| 09. | |
The Boy With The Arab Strap |
5:14 | |
| 10. | |
Chickfactor |
3:31 | |
| 11. | |
Simple Things |
1:46 | |
| 12. | |
The Rollercoaster Ride |
6:36 | |
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