Indie rock veterans express their talents on the big screen once again
Since the early ’90s, Scottish band Belle and Sebastian have been creating an indie and folk-rock realm that has stood the test of time. After releasing nine studio albums and been featured in movies and TV shows like Juno, “The O.C.” and High Fidelity, Belle and Sebastian are back with Days of the Bagnold Summer. The album will score the film to come from director of “The Inbetweeners’” Simon Bird. Days of the Bagnold Summer, an adaptation of Joff Winterhart’s graphic novel of the same name. A film based around coming of age and growing pains, Belle and Sebastian fall into a comfortable, anxiety-freeing realm where their music just makes sense.
The soundtrack consists of 11 new songs, instrumentals and a few tracks from the vault. “I Know Where the Summer Goes” from the 1998 EP This Is Just A Modern Rock Song and “Get Me Away From Here, I’m Dying” from the 1996 studio album If You’re Feeling Sinister become two blasts from the past that feel at home in this mix of tracks. The album becomes it’s own with original tracks like “Sister Buddha” and lead singers Stuart Murdoch’s long lost “Safety Valve” which was an unleased, resurfaced track from 1993. With lyrics that relate to the current level of anxiety or codependence that younger generations might be feeling, these tracks fit perfectly into a soundtrack about angsty teens.
Though Belle and Sebastian have always been known for their outstanding lyricism, “We Were Never Glorious,” a fiddle inspired instrumental makes its mark on the soundtrack with its pure simplicity and ability to allow the listener to drift off without a care in the world. Belle and Sebastian take Days of the Bagnold Summer and run with it. Without straying too far from what they know best, the band has created a solid piece of music that does fit nicely with the rest of their discography.
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