This article was originally published on beingtheremag.com, an independent music and film magazine that ran from 2004 to 2007. It is presented here as part of the Being There Magazine archive.
By Adam Anklewicz | Being There Magazine, March/April 2006
“I was surprised / I was happy for a day in 1975,” sang Stuart Murdoch in the opening of 1996’s Tigermilk. If Belle & Sebastian could see in 1996 how far they would come in ten years time, I’m sure they would be happy. With the recent release of The Life Pursuit , Belle & Sebastian have moved into a direction that no fan could have predicted when those 1000 vinyl-only records called Tigermilk found their way to Scottish record shops, and into the hands of the country’s DJs and A&R representatives. Back in 1995, Stuart Murdoch was the lone-leader of the sextet who would define indie-pop for a generation after years of being unknowns.
For a long time Belle & Sebastian were special to many fans because they felt that the band was their own little secret. A band that they could help build a loyal following with word of mouth, and surprisingly that was enough. Their fans, a lot of which had no idea what the band even looked like, loved Belle & Sebastian. With a reluctance to speak to the press, and few photos of the band, there was little to allow fans access to the band. Even without much help from media, people were drawn in by the music and with the help of fans like famed BBC DJ John Peel; Belle & Sebastian have achieved heights never before thought.
This isn’t the story of Belle & Sebastian. That story has been told well by Paul Whitelaw in his biography of the band called Just A Modern Rock Story . This is an examination of the importance of the music, specifically their first two albums, Tigermilk and If You’re Feeling Sinister . Stuart Murdoch’s songwriting was the centre of what Belle & Sebastian were and what they were to become. That wispy and cracking voice would be the first thing many fans would hear of Belle & Sebastian simply those opening lines to “The State I Am In” or “Stars of Track and Field” were just Murdoch and his guitar.
“My Wandering Days Are Over” was written about the completion of Belle & Sebastian. Stuart Murdoch spent much time finding the right mix of people to make up his band. Stevie Jackson, Richard Colburn, Chris Geddes and Stuart David made up Murdoch’s backing band, but it wasn’t until new years 1996 that he met Isobel Campbell and the band was complete⦠for the time. Eventually, Stuart David and Isobel Campbell would leave the band, and Sarah Martin, Mick Cooke and Bobby Kildea would join. With “My Wandering Days Are Over,” Murdoch sings about “hitting the drums for the final time” and letting his new bandmates help form his image. It wasn’t until after the band’s second release however that those members had a distinctive voice to the listener.
In early 1998 a cassette came in the mail from a friend. She labeled it “Making Life-Sized Models Of The Velvet Underground Out Of Clay.” A quote from the song “Expectations.” On side-a was a live Velvet Underground album, side-b was Belle & Sebastian’s If You’re Feeling Sinister , but it came with a hand-written warning. “Stuart Murdoch’s voice may seem unusual; and it is. Pay attention to their sort of perverse, funny, touching lyrics.” I did, and I think my parents can attest that I wore this tape out.
Those perverse, funny and yet touching lyrics are part of what makes Belle & Sebastian so very special to me. Stuart Murdoch’s songwriting skill is fantastic and the twenty songs between Tigermilk and If You’re Feeling Sinister are proof that even with some missteps over these past ten years, he is writing in a class of its own. If he’s singing about the underwear choices of track and field stars or lesbian love of the abused, Stuart Murdoch convinces the listener of his song’s authenticity. The sincerity in his vocals, and the direct connection he makes to the listener are what created such a fandom.
Tigermilk was released to no fan-fare, Ten songs graced this vinyl-only pressing; all of them penned and arranged by Murdoch before Belle & Sebastian ever stepped into a studio, and perhaps even before forming. These ten songs were the world’s first glimpse into the art of Belle & Sebastian. Listeners were treated to the whimpered voice of Stuart Murdoch as he told many stories; one of which was of a dream.
“My brother had confessed he was gay. It took the heat off me for awhile.” Murdoch sang of weddings, religion, miracle cures, unrequited love and much more. All of this appears simply in the opening song, “The State I Am In.” Murdoch’s song was a retelling of a dream in which his brother confessed his homosexuality at his sister’s wedding. Murdoch’s tale is set to jangly guitar and a danceable beat.
The contrast between the lyric and accompanying music are a trademark of early Belle & Sebastian song structure. These songs are easily accessible pop with characters in miserable situations. It’s hard not to sing along to lyrics like “Oh love of mine, would you condescend to help me, because I’m stupid and blind?” Murdoch’s voice rises as if inviting the listener into the song and asking them to answer without any sense of irony.
The next two songs only help to continue this, while at the same time improving on everything Stuart Murdoch did in the opening track. “The rumour is you never go with boys and you are tight, they jab you with a fork, you drop your tray and go berserk. While you’re cleaning up the mess the teacher’s looking up your skirt,” effectively sums up this student’s school life in “Expectations.” Obsessions with The Velvet Underground, working in the department store and a general lack of respect are what the character being sung about is facing. Involving the listener by making the subject he sings about “you.” It’s easy for the listener to find him or herself in the story that Murdoch tells.
That personal effect only helps listeners lose themselves into Murdoch’s stories and build an emotional attachment to the music he created. Without building an emotional attachment, there is only so far a band can go. This attachment has turned many casual listeners into loyal fans. Mediocre records such as the soundtrack album Storytelling sell well due to a committed core of fans. This loyalty has served them well, and it’s well deserved. Though Belle & Sebastian have yet to create a bad album, but even if they did, nothing they could do could diminish their early work.
Murdoch often puts himself in the role of his characters. He sings from the voice of many people and often tries to distance himself from those he sings about. Characters reoccur frequently, such as Lisa who’s unsure of her sexual identity, but at least we know that “she’s losing it.” These sexually inexperienced characters appear often. “We can kiss and do whatever you want, but you will be disappointed. You will fall asleep with ants in your pants,” sings Murdoch in “Judy And The Dream Of Horses.” “If I remain passive and you just want to cuddle, then we should be okay and we won’t get into trouble” is from the same album, a song called “Seeing Other People.” Murdoch’s characters are the hopelessly lonely and seem to be unable to grasp any concept of a sexual relationship before it turns sour.
This is a theme carried through from album to album; on Tigermilk it’s Lisa and Chelsea. Lisa pops up again on Fold Your Hands Child, You Walk Like A Peasant in the song “The Model” and a few other times, while this theme is rather relentless. “Le Pastie De La Bourgeoisie” on the EP 3… 6… 9… Seconds of Light focuses on a handful of loner characters, which would rather have their nose in a book if only they could. “Mary Jo” is living alone and her only purpose in life is warning others of the peril she went through, and even seems to be there reluctantly.
We have these expectations of what a Belle & Sebastian album is supposed to sound like. The seven people who currently make up the band don’t carry the same expectations and have had no problem reinventing themselves with each record. With reinvention, and different genres or sounds, can Belle & Sebastian ever be poignant again? This isn’t to say anything low of their current work. The Life Pursuit is a good pop album, but where’s the message to “Mornington Crescent” or “Sukie In The Graveyard?” These songs are definitely worthy of the fab reviews they’ve received, but pale in comparison to a body of work so grand.
I don’t know what the world has gained from Stuart Murdoch’s songwriting, or the music of Belle & Sebastian in general. What I do know is that individual lives are changed for the better. With his songs, people can find a place to take comfort in; people can see this world’s good and bad at the same time thanks to the songs of Belle & Sebastian. This is a public thank you to that university girl who sent a kid in high school a cassette in the mail. Thanks Teri.