Belle and Sebastian – Dear Catastrophe Waitress

A Breath of Fresh Air

Ahhh…a breath of fresh air! A breeze heavy with strings, brass, noisy guitars, clear falsetto, sexy accents, and poetic lyrics about love, being bullied, and road trips. After endless conjured-up refuse, Dear Catastrophe Waitress is such a welcome change of rock-and-roll pace; a break from the monotony of corporate spawns, cloning projects, and overly repetitive dumbed-down displays of what record companies can crap. This is poetry in all forms of the word. It is clear that the members of Belle and Sebastian are talented, but after this addition to their repertoire of jovial, whimsical, light-hearted-yet-poignant albums, it is evident that they have integrity too. Their previous work has been a little more experimental, a little less poppy. But this album flows well, is smooth and creamy, and goes down easy. They follow the path of other famous Brits a little more closely with Beatles-esque bopping beats and Rolling Stones instrumentals, but with a sweet Scottish breath behind it. It is almost too short. You want more – so much more that the next wait will be excruciating. So take their advice and thank the Man above for falling in love. Give thanks for this breath of fresh air.