lambchops's Full Review: Tigermilk by Belle & Sebastian
I take issue all too often with music that finds a place on radio simply because it’s supported and marketed by a major label. It’s wonderfully refreshing to find a band that is quite the opposite. A band that turns down numerous offers from huge labels, sticks to their musical guns, and continues album after album to create amazing soundscapes. One such band is Belle and Sebastian.
The story begins with Stuart Murdoch, a Glasgow songwriter, guitarist and vocalist. Young Murdoch recruited a band of six unlikely talents at a café in late 1995. Those individuals agreed that the band that would become Belle and Sebastian would remain small thus allowing them to create the music that they felt most gratifying. And so they were formed. Sarah Martin (violin), Stevie Jackson (guitar), Richard Colburn (drums), Isobel Campbell (cello), Stuart David (bass), Chris Geddes (keyboards) and Murdoch were all equal parts in this musical ensemble that has to date released four critically acclaimed albums.
Belle and Sebastian didn’t expect such a warm reception when they pressed just 1000 copies of their debut Tigermilk on their own label in vinyl. They had no idea the speed at which news of their arrival would spread around Britain. Soon thereafter, the band signed to a small American EMI subsidiary (that eventually went bankrupt). Finally, after releasing numerous popular EP’s they solidified a deal with giant indie label Matador. That label then released the two earlier albums and eventually two new ones.
So it all began with the fabulously creative and ultimately timeless debut…1996’s Tigermilk. Since it’s release Belle and Sebastian become a break through success. Even individuals not generally associated with such a light, experimental sound have found solace in the band’s melodies and lyrics. They don’t neatly fit into any genre…some might just simply call them indie pop. Others may apply various other descriptors (twee, chamber, etc…) to describe them. I on the other hand would prefer to just place them in their own less limiting category…a place that allows them to do as they see fit.
With Matador’s re-release of Tigermilk in 1999 a whole new group of people were finally allowed the pleasure of experiencing Belle and Sebastian’s earliest musical exploits. This is not the album of an inexperienced band. The music has many layers. It’s complex, yet simple and precious at the same time. The songs are creative yet accessible to many music listeners. Even on this, their earliest effort, they are already set in their musical ways. The lyrics are on the surface sickly sweet, but a tiny little venture into the depths brings to light nasty little stories that I must admit I do enjoy.
At just ten tracks long, Tigermilk is lengthy enough to prove the band’s talent. It’s also just long enough to peak any music fan’s interest. It begins with the delicate, almost folk The State I Am In. It starts with just Murdoch’s tiny, unassuming vocals and an extremely lightly strummed guitar. As it continues, more and more of his comrades add their little piece to the whole. At the end of it all, what exists is an off-kilter ditty that is as equally strange as it is classically beautiful and unlike much else in popular music today. The lyrics are often what set the mood. Listen carefully and enjoy!
My brother had confessed that he was gay, it took the heat off me for a while
He stood up with a sailor friend, made it known upon my sisters wedding day
As so the rest of the album goes. Wistful and intelligent, wry and creative. Expectations is gorgeous with lovely instrumentation ranging from Martin’s violin and Campbell’s cello to a vivaciously played trumpet. Murdoch is a little energetic this time, perfectly executing his own tongue-in-cheek words:
Your obsessions get you known throughout the school for being strange
Making life-size models of the Velvet Underground in clay
On the surface, She’s Losing It is an upbeat song with some sad undertones. It’s difficult to hold myself back from clapping along with Murdoch’s shining vocals and the happy-sounding melody. A tiny look at the lyrics once again shows the actual intent of the song:
I go to her when I'm feeling slack
The girl's using me as a punching bag
I think that I could help her out
But the girl's got a lot to be mad about
You’re Just A Baby is an undeniably appealing track. Jackson’s guitar is raw and likable. This song is really more about the music than it is about the amazingly catchy lyrics. I can’t help but enjoy the band’s odd choice of percussion while harboring an appreciation for Murdoch’s uneasy vocals.
While Electronic Renaissance sounds on one level like some synthesizer experiment from 1981, on another level it’s—well—a synthesizer experiment from 1996. Fortunately, the initial craziness of the track wears off and Murdoch jumps in with vocals obscured by distortion and keyboards. It’s unlike the other tracks on the album and is probably less accessible. Though, it is still a shining example of what Belle and Sebastian is about…truth, grace, and style.
A tidy blend of distortion, synthesizers, and traditional instrumentation, I Could Be Dreaming is probably one of the lesser tracks. Where some of the others succeed, this one stumbles a bit. It feels somewhat repetitive. It also unfortunately feels like filler more than anything else. Even if I’m not keen on the music part, I do kind of like the darkly chanted lyrics:
Is he your husband?
Or just your boyfriend?
Is he the moron who's been beating you and keeping you inside?
I've never done this kind of thing
But if I kill him now, who's going to miss him?
What comes next is the gently poetic We Rule The School. Featuring just a cello, piano, and Murdoch’s vocals at the start, the song eventually adds the guitar and violin. The music is epic, the melodies are refreshingly simple yet wholly genius, the vocals are impressive, and the lyrics quietly demand:
Do something pretty while you can
Don't fall asleep
Driving from California to New York
An unexpected gem, My Wandering Days Are Over is a sweetly sour song. It feels nervous while remaining controlled. The lyrics are as strange as usual and as easily delivered by Murdoch as on the other tracks on Tigermilk. Not special here, then again it’s also better than about 95% of the material out there from other artists.
I love the jangly guitars and tune that mark I Don’t Love Anyone. Belle and Sebastian seems to channel the Beatles ala 1970 or so in such a way that pays homage to that band yet showcases the innate talent of this. This is a romp through the indie pop territory that seems to suit them best. Then again, each experiment they complete suits them well. Even if the melody is keen pop, the song is actually about being alone and isolated from love by choice. The lyrics are pointedly poignant:
But if there's one thing that I learned when I was still a child
It's to take a hiding
Yeah if there's one thing that I learned when I was still at school
It's to be alone
The final note of Tigermilk is provided by Mary Jo. Murdoch’s vocals flit delicately through the musical landscape populated by cellos, pianos, and Campbell’s tiny voice. The mood is light, yet at the core the song is wry. The songsmith, Murdoch, is indeed literate and fascinating. Belle and Sebastian is well worth many listens.
So yeah. I do like Tigermilk quite a bit save for just two or so songs. It’s not the band’s best really, but compared to the vast majority of pop music out there it’s amazingly versatile, creative, eclectic, and appealing. If you have any interest at all in alternative or indie pop and you have yet to hear Belle and Sebastian prepare to be amazed and to shell out your hard earned dollars. They are worth a purchase without benefit of a first listen.
But, in an effort to discourage buying Tigermilk first, I will only award it four stars. There are in fact (and unbelievably) two other better albums from the Scottish seven. Both If You’re Feeling Sinister (1996) and The Boy With the Arab Starp are epic albums. Also available is the less popular 2000 release, Fold Your Hands Child You Walk Like a Peasant and most recently a strange soundtrack entitled Storytelling. I highly recommend exploring Belle and Sebastian.
Rating: 4/5 stars
Track Listing:
1. The State I Am In
2. Expectations
3. She’s Losing It
4. You’re Just A Baby
5. Electronic Renaissance
6. I Could Be Dreaming
7. We Rule The School
8. My Wandering Days Are Over
9. I Don’t Love Anyone
10. Mary Jo
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