Belle & Sebastian - How to Solve Our Human Problems, Pt. 1

Belle And Sebastian have been around for seemingly forever, and up until now, I've always just sort of been a very casual fan of these Indie Pop legends.  When it comes to their 1996 debut "Tigermilk", I really don't have much bad to say at all.  The majority of these tunes here are charming, sweet, catchy and witty.   Not to mention, they're all just so damn likable at the end of the day.  Most of these tunes are instantaneous, and really don't require that much diving in.  Now, if I had to make one criticism, I really wasn't into some of the softer tunes like "Mary Jo" and "We Rule The School", or the experimental tune "Electronic Renaissance" which really didn't go over too well.  But still, "Tigermilk" is a brilliant opener to this band's discography.  With their next album, "If You're Feeling Sinister", Belle & Sebastian really fleshed out their sounds.  The storytelling lyrics were even more charming, and the instrumentals were just as fluffy and sweet.  Some of the band's most well-known tracks were on here, like "Get Me Away from Here, I'm Dying" and "Seeing Other People".  Now, I still wasn't as into slower tunes like "The Fox In The Snow", but that's my only real complaint.  Overall, this album was just another seriously wonderful Indie Pop album.  But just when I thought that Belle and Sebastian were on a real hot streak, out came 1998's "The Boy With the Arab Strap".  Now, this album isn't terrible, with tracks like "Sleep the Clock Around" still being real standouts.  But the quality of the songs had taken a gigantic nosedive on this album. Plus, so many of these tunes were much slower and a little more boring sadly.  2000's "Fold Your Hands Child You Walk Like a Peasant" is a little more interesting, but only slightly.  Almost all of the tunes here were on the slower side sadly.  But, I do think that they were presented in a much classier way.  Tracks like "The Model" and "Don't Leave The Light on Baby" were cinematic and quite frankly, gorgeous.  But it was other tunes like "The Chalet Lines" and "Beyond the Sunrise" from really keeping me from enjoying this album. The next time we heard from Belle and Sebastian, it was for their all-instrumental soundtrack for the 2001 film "Storytelling".  Now, I'm not gonna completely destroy this album because it certainly is pleasant to listen to and all.  But that's really about it, it doesn't come off as a proper Belle and Sebastian release, and seems a little cheap.  So it had been a really long time since I really was 100% into a Belle and Sebastian project.  But 2003 showed the release of "Dear Catastrophe Waitress", and Belle and Sebastian instantly were household names again.  This album was everything I wanted to hear from the band, quaint songwriting, elegant instrumentals, and a seriously classy overall package.  We got this all in spades here with amazing tunes like "I'm a Cuckoo" and "Step Into My Office".  Just like that, Belle and Sebastian once again seemed seriously ready to take on the millennium and get some new fans.  In 2006 Belle and Sebastian returned with "The Life Pursuit".  This album was much more lively, bring in elements of glam and other genres, and showed Belle and Sebastian getting a little swagger.  The result though was so damn likable.  For so many years, Belle and Sebastian just seemed to underwhelm, but they were quickly reaching the top of their game once again.  2010's "Write About Love" continued to show Belle and Sebastian still had quite a bit to offer.  This album had a little bit of a Retro Pop tinge to it, but the group did wonderfully with it.  Tracks like "I Want The World To Stop", "Write About Love", and "I'm Not Living In The Real World" are honestly some of my favorite Belle and Sebastian tunes ever.  And while yes, I still had issues with softer tunes like "Read the Blessed Pages" and "Calculating Bimbo", this album was a great listen overall.  Belle and Sebastian, however, took a dark turn with their next album incorporating more dance music elements on 2015's "Girls In Peacetime Want to Dance".  It's not necessarily a bad album, with tracks like "Enter Sylvia Plath" and "The Party Line" being standouts.  But let's be honest, as catchy as some of these tunes were, this is far from a Belle and Sebastian album.  Now, one thing I didn't expect from this new EP, was for Belle and Sebastian to push further ahead with their more electronic sound.  But I do have to say, they sound full of energy!  So let's chat about the rest of this EP.

This album starts out with “Sweet Dew Lee”.  It’s a slow start, which can really go either way with Belle and Sebastian.  Sadly, this track doesn’t end up working out for them.  I like just how quaint and sweet the lyrics are on this one.  As far as that goes, it’s rather charming.  But what in the hell is going on with these vocals?  Stuart Murdoch sounds fine when he eventually comes in.  But as far as Stevie Jackson goes, he really isn’t coming off very charming at all.  It just ends up being really awkward, and sadly I wish I didn’t hear from Stevie at all.  Stuart on the other hand does sound totally fine.  “Sweet Dew Lee” does have some nice elements, and I have to commend this one for continuing to be rather sweet.  But the instrumentals here are far from the ones that I fell in love with years ago.  Also, Belle and Sebastian are still clearly going for that more Electronic sound.  Which I guess does come off a little better here, but still, it’s bizarre.  For an intro, sadly this one really doesn’t do much for me and seems to go on practically forever.   On the other hand, “We Were Beautiful” as a more synth-heavy tune actually works really fantastic for Belle and Sebastian.  It’s smooth, and while it’s obviously much more synthetic, is still the same sort of Indie Pop I loved years ago.   I love the little details like that slide guitar playing throughout the background, as well as the gloriously harmonious chorus.  As a matter of fact, just about everything about this tune is a really solid sound for Belle and Sebastian.  No, this isn’t a carbon copy of the band that defined Indie Pop in the 90’s.  But if they’re going to progress their sound, this quite frankly really isn’t bad.  It’s sweet, charming, and incredibly catchy.  Up next though, we get another slow burner in the form of “Fickle Season”.  Sadly, this one really isn’t that much better than the album’s opener.  I’m down with the very airy and beautiful vocals on this one, that’s far from my issue.  Everything else about this track is quite frankly just so dead and lifeless.  The almost lounge inspired instrumental could be worse, but there’s no passion in sight.  Some of the little details are pleasant, like some of the distant xylophones.  But overall, I’m fighting the urge to fall asleep.

    Belle and Sebastian, however, haven’t completely lost their songwriting knack, as proven with “The Girl Doesn’t Get It”.  This tune is like getting slapped in the face in the best way.  Where has THIS  sound been for Belle and Sebastian been lately?  It’s so catchy and sweet, and it really doesn’t have any moments that are hard to stomach.  It takes the classic Indie Pop sound that Belle and Sebastian worked with for years, but it brings it up to date just enough.  There are some wonderful harmonies, and the playful synths are nothing short of a blast.  I can’t remember the last time I heard the band so full of life, and it’s wonderful to hear.  This EP ends us off with “Everything Is Now”.  All I have to ask is why the hell does they continue to come back to these incredibly dreary tunes.  I mean, this is certainly much better than any of the other slow tunes here, mostly due to some actually emotional playing.  But that’s really not saying too much because everything else about this one was thrown together very quickly.  I don’t know, it’s an alright finale.  But for a 6 minute instrumental from a band whose witty lyrics I’ve always loved so much, it just seems a little cheap, but that’s just me.  But it is a pleasant finale to listen to, and I do love a lot of the jazzy playing.

Rating: 6.2/10

Give A Listen To: “We Were Beautiful”, “The Girl Doesn’t Get It”

Genre: Indie Pop / Synth Pop

Overall Thoughts:  Going into this EP I really wasn’t expecting too much sadly.  The fact of the matter is, this EP really isn’t a good one at all sadly.  It has a song or two that will remind you that Belle and Sebastian still can write an incredible Indie Pop tune.  But the rest of the songs here will remind you of just how far they’ve fallen, which makes this short EP that much more disappointing.