Oh man, I've been looking forward to this one for a while!
IF YOU'RE FEELING SINISTER is the second album by Scottish indie band Belle and Sebastian, released 1996. SINISTER has rightfully garnered a reputation for being one of the best albums of not only the 90's, but in some circles, of all time. So what's going on here?
SINISTER is a masterclass in many things, and I think primarily songwriting. From even the first track, THE STARS OF TRACK AND FIELD, the album makes it's intentions very clear- Murdoch is going to tell us these stories about people and relationships against these fantastic instrumentals. TRACK AND FIELD is such a ridiculously high point to open an album on, for a song about running track and field, the song is heartfelt and gentle, but builds to this huge climax by the end of the track that conveys such an awesome range of emotions.
Another highlight is found in DYLAN IN THE MOVIES, it has this fairly standard verse/chorus structure but it sounds incredible, there's this fantastic tension created in the chorus which is expanded on in this tear jerking xylophone solo at the end of the track. The track just flows with just a weightless ease from the start til the end,
I think the album's best transition is easily from GET ME AWAY FROM HERE I'M DYING to the title track, the former is this constantly shifting and almost awkwardly written tune about longing, to this beautiful 5 minute tune centering around religion and death, it's introduced by synthesizers and keys before Stuart introduces these tragic and lonely characters and explores their lives, and for the refrains the band all drop out except for Murdoch and some strings which creates these utterly serene moments.
The Record ends on JUDY AND THE DREAM OF HORSES, it's this song about a girl who writes a song about her dream about horses, which as silly as it sounds makes for a really pretty closing track on the record. It's largely just 2 chords outside the chorus but the charm of it carries it throughout. The major sevenths give it a nice depth too.
The only really not great track on the album is BOY DONE WRONG AGAIN- I think I mostly dislike it just because it's kind of wimpy and it's sandwiched between 2 fairly high energy tracks, and it doesn't really have anything going for it like the others do. It's fine, but it's just not as good as the other tunes here.
Other than that, the songs are pretty much all really great tunes. the musicianship is stellar on all of them and the record has a real personality to it- all the songs were recorded live which gives them a subtle ambiance and interplay between the musicians that gives the whole album a big boost. If you want to find out more about the recording of the album, there's a great Pitchfork documentary on youtube of the band talking about the writing and recording of the album.
The record is just incredibly solid overall, I honestly don't have a great deal of negative points to speak of in the end- it's an album that's uncompromisingly emotionally honest, with great writing and playing. I don't think there's anyone I wouldn't recommend this too.
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