Belle And Sebastian - How to Solve Our Human Problems, Pt. 3

I literally feel like I was just talking about Belle and Sebastian like, yesterday.  Needless to say, Indie Pop legends Belle & Sebastian are back and ending off their trilogy of "How To Solve Our Human Problems" EP's.  Now, the first chapter of this, released late last year was easily one of the worst EP's I heard all of last year.  This was just a collection of incredibly bland Synth Pop and not the direction I wanted to hear them go at all.  But Belle & Sebastian returned early this year with Part 2 of this trilogy, and honestly, I really loved what I was hearing here.  Sure, it's not as punchy or as instantaneous as the band's classic material.  But for a band that's been around as long as they have, they honestly sounded refreshed.  There was everything from Soft Rock to Indie Pop on this EP, and I really did enjoy it for the most part.   Belle and Sebastian Are back, rounding off this EP trilogy, let's catch up with them.

    This EP starts off on an incredibly funky note with “Poor Boy”.  I love just how groovy this track is, and I absolutely love Sarah Martin’s vocals, which honestly haven’t been that stunning in this EP series.  This is a really interesting change of pace for this EP series.  We’ve heard Indie Pop here and a more electronic sound as well, even some smooth Jazz.  But “Poor Boy” is a really sweet blend of Post-Disco and Dance.  It’s soulful, and it sort of has this retro pop sensibility in the way that this has a sort of back and forth between love interests.  It’s adorable and totally what I would expect to hear from Belle and Sebastian at this point in their career.  Not to mention, none of this sounds dated at all.  “Poor Boy” is an incredibly pleasant start.  Then we have “Everything Is Now, Pt. Two”, the second part of one of my least favorite tracks in this trilogy.  Instantly though, it’s much smoother and jazzier and filled with life compared to it’s predecessor.  It’s got a ton of very poppy elements, but the biggest shocker here is just how many more vocals we’re getting this time around.  The original version of this was almost completely instrumentals and repetitive.  But with the added structure that this part gets from all of these fleshed out lyrics, makes this seriously charming.  "Everything is Now, Pt. Two” actually ends up being one of the classiest and most beautiful songs in this entire trilogy, and standing at over 5-minutes it has plenty of room to breathe.  I’d even go as far as to say this is one of the best Belle and Sebastian tracks I’ve heard in ages.  I can’t help but get swept up in the duet vocals of Stuart Murdoch and Sarah Martin, as well as the lavish strings.  Hell yea, this one works, so much so, that when the incredibly repetitive chorus from the first part of this track returns, it’s refreshing.  “Too Many Tears” is up next, and this continues with the very elegant sound we’ve been getting boatloads of so far.  I’ll be honest, this is shockingly sounding more and more like the band’s early material by the minute.  It’s sweet, got a catchy hook, and still has a sort of dance groove that really works nicely.  It’s just so peppy and sunny, and I can’t help but love the very lavish instrumentals.  “Too Many Tears” contains easily the most refined and bold instrumental in this entire trilogy.  Parts of it are current, retro, sweet, as well as incredibly classy.  Not to mention, a lot of these tracks have longer run times than I’m used to hearing from Belle and Sebastian lately, but they’re 

certainly justified. 

    “There Is an Everlasting Song” is up next, however, and oh boy, it’s an acoustic one.  Now I can totally see a whole lot of people being charmed by this one.  But tracks like this from Belle and Sebastian have put me to sleep for years.  I just love hearing them in more upbeat environments, and while I have dug tracks like this in the past, this is just so cheesy and is putting me to sleep.  Even when “There Is an Everlasting Song” picks up into a more Folk Rock tune, this one simply put isn’t my cup of tea.  On the other hand, “Best Friend” is simply put an incredibly sweet and adorable pop tune.  There’s a very old school Pop feel to this as Belle and Sebastian put their spin on a classic tale of two neighbors getting a little crush on one another.  But outside of that, this is just a really punchy Indie Pop tune.  It may not be as refined as earlier tracks here, but Belle and Sebastian can clearly still write a Pop tune which is something that we forget about.  “Best Friend” is sweet, cute, and an incredibly pleasant ending to this trilogy.  Now, just how much this trilogy is supposed to fit together, or just how much it’s supposed to mean is beyond me.  But for a standalone EP, this is surprisingly very solid. 

Rating: 7.7/10

Genre: Indie Pop 

Overall Thoughts:  Belle and Sebastian round up their "How To Solve our Human Problems" trilogy with easily the most enjoyable group of tracks yet.  While other Parts of this EP Trilogy have seem lost, with Belle and Sebastian rarely having any direction, this EP has tons of it.  There are still some punchy grooves and some very refined instrumentals, but that's something that these Indie Pop legends have worked with for years.  But this EP is just so likable overall, and a really pleasant short listen.  How this ties in with the other EP's, and what this trilogy represents as a whole is up for debate.  However, if you want a refresher course on what Belle and Sebastian can do when they're focused while we wait for a full length album, this is a surprisingly decent EP.