Girls in Peacetime Want to Dance
Matador
2015
Rating: 8.5 lenticular trading cards out of 10
I thought I had already written a review of this new Belle and Sebastian record a few weeks ago, and yet I don't see it here on the website? Did I dream this? Maybe it was one of those fever dreams you always hear about in the movies? After all, this template autosaves the shit you write into it, so I have no explanation.
Anyways, it's the band's first new record in five years and their ninth full-length by my count, and they still haven't lost that magic touch. Bear in mind that the person reviewing this has flown both to Montreal and Miami just to see them perform, and I'm driving to DC for the same in a few months...I often claim I'm fairly biased in reviews, but my superfandom of B&S might put them at the top of the list.
To put it simply, "Girls in Peacetime Want to Dance" sounds like the band wrote and recorded a typical album, and then decided to throw some dance jams in to appeal to the kids. Kids love dance jams right? First there is the disco-infused "The Party Line," then the New Order-esque "Enter Sylvia Plath," and finally the calypso-infused "Play for Today" that sounds like it would be at home on a film soundtrack from the eighties (not that there's anything wrong with that). The film would most likely star Andrew McCarthy. I like those upbeat tracks just fine, but the two best and most classic-style B&S songs are the first two on the release, "Nobody's Empire" and "Allie." "Ever Had a Little Faith?" towards the end of the record is also a strong classic-sounding song. Not a dud on the whole thing though, which continues the bands streak of never ever releasing a bad song. Listen, I already told you I'm kind of a fan...
