Though they'd been around for a while, this was the first Belle and Sebastian album I heard all the way through, and then the first that I bought. Thanks to Matt for lending it to me first. I'd heard the name many times, and I'd read a lot about them. Through their early years, Belle and Sebastian were loved by a small number of dedicated fans, and spurned by a good number for being somewhat twee.In fairness, having gone back through their discography, there's some validity to these claims. 'Dear Catastrophe Waitress', however, marked a turning point for the band. Perhaps in an attempt to prove their critics wrong, the band recruited producer Trevor Horn to make the album, and the result is their most solid album by far. It has a far more muscular and well-built style than all their previous albums, and happily, the quality of the songs themselves match this new-found confidence. The title track, 'I'm a Cuckoo', 'Roy Walker', 'If She Wants Me' - all are perfectly formed pieces of pop music.
The delicate nature of Belle and Sebastian still shines through, both in full tracks - 'Piazza, New York Catcher', 'Lord Anthony' - and in the flashes of other tracks: this may be a harder album than their others, but it still begins with a flute riff for 'Step Into My Office, Baby'.
The album as a whole is a joy - a pleasure to listen to, but complex and layered enough to stand up to repeated listening. It also manages the unusual feat of ending on a real high. 'Stay Loose', the albums closing track, is like nothing in the Belle and Sebastian catalogue up to that point (though something of an indicator towards the next album). It's a real treat.
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