Belle & Sebastian – The Life Pursuit

Still Haven’t Found What They’re Looking For

Belle & Sebastian are a group that has been around forever and are just starting to be noticed in the United States. Each new endeavor is the continuation of a quest for the perfect album, hence the title of their latest piece, The Life Pursuit. At this point, the group has still not found their musical nirvana.The album itself is greatly advanced from any of their past. Instead of one monochromatic image gracing the cover and no fold-out insert it is a book of tongue-in-cheek Q&A from their fans and full color images of playful girls in traditional Scottish garb.

As for the music, the album does not feel as polished as their two previous albums, The Boy with the Arab Strap and Dear Catastrophe Waitress. It’s slightly disjointed with unusual flaws, such as the terrible synth string-section in “Song for Sunshine.” The strained lyrics aren’t as poignant, as in the cliché “You are my girl, and you don’t even know it/I am living out the life of a poet” from “Funny Little Frog.” However, in songs like “The Blues are Still Blue,” the true nature of B&S, with catchy riffs and danceable beats, still carries through and songs like “Sukie in the Graveyard” continue their signature tight vocal harmonies. The band takes elements that have worked and try to use them differently.

Though the music and lyrics of The Life Pursuit aren’t as top notch as standard B&S, there are still enjoyable components. Like the response printed to a question of which album Bono would pick for his favorite says: “The next one. Like us, he still hasn’t found what he’s looking for.”