While the first half of their six-album output represents the life of the nervous, self-doubting teenager, latter works have seen the band blossoming and growing up into confident twenty-somethings. Musically, the Scots have moved away from their trademark twee, pared-down sound to a lush, orchestrated West Coast summery affair. It’s just as beautifully attended-to, but substantially different, especially the fantastic album closer ‘Stay Loose’ which sounds unlike anything they’ve ever done or the Thin Lizzy-aping ‘I’m A Cuckoo’. It may alienate the most fervent but it will undoubtedly be appreciated by many more.
Lyrically, gay baseball players, put-upon waitresses and bullied school children all feature, maintaining Stuart Murdoch’s ability to extract the saddest of themes from the most ordinary of subjects. The danger for B&S was that they would become trapped in a world of knee socks and introspection; the reality is that they’ve produced their best album since ‘Boy With The Arab Strap’, while proving that they can cut it in the world of well-adjusted adults.
Wrong Album Cover
Fantastic album though.
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Maybe you people should stop moaning about pointless things and start embracing the fact we didn't review B&S as a footnote, that we did give them the time and space a cult band of their status deserves. You could at least have mentioned something, anything at all, which gareth said in the review.
Some people. Sheesh.
Re: Wrong Album Cover
I was just pointing out you've used the wrong album cover, which you have. Fine, its not important. Weirdos.
The albums fantastic, and I wager it'll go Top 5, with the following single doing Top 10.
Everyone should hear their cover of 'Final Day' by Young Marble Giants. It's cheesy electro-pop madness.
B&S/Horn production
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Think it was recorded somewhere in Sussex, and the song 'Piazza, New York Catcher' was done in Glasgow.