Belle And Sebastian - it only takes one lion, 2026

"The lyrics came to Stuart Murdoch in the hazy aftermath of Scotland’s dramatic qualification for the World Cup. The Belle and Sebastian frontman had watched his side’s playoff victory over Denmark through his fingers before deciding to write his own anthem to a team he has followed for more than 50 years. “Most people recognised instantly the next day that they’d witnessed the most important Scottish game ever,” says Murdoch. “That was our magic moment.”

Belle And Sebastian - sister buddha, 2019

"Days of the Bagnold Summer encapsulates the best of Belle and Sebastian whist simultaneously narrating the key themes of the film. The gentle approach of the album and the complementary nature of the band’s rerecording’s and the new tracks are hard to fault. Belle and Sebastian have truly found a beautiful sweet spot on Days of the Bagnold Summer between a film soundtrack and a signature sounding album."

Belle And Sebastian - jill pole, 2019

"Cave has the more challenging role. Rejected by his father, Daniel’s character is an unapproachable combination of rage and inertia. But gradually we realise that he’s a child who is plunged into depression without the vocabulary or the life experience to navigate it."

Belle And Sebastian - there is an everlasting song, 2018

"This track is about the folksiest that Belle & Sebastian get on this project – it’s laid-back, toe-tapping acoustic music with a vaguely bluegrassy bass line and a little bit of finger-picking to sweeten the deal, but nothing too show-offy about it. Stuart and Stevie are singing close enough harmony vocals hear that I mostly just hear Stuart, except for an odd little part in the last verse where Stevie splits off to sing a few beat behind Stuart, who kindly stops to let him catch up. That sort of hints at a bigger finish to come than what the final few seconds of the song end up delivering, but it’s still an interesting way to think outside of the box in terms of how their vocalists can play off of each other."

Belle And Sebastian - poor boy, 2018

"One of the characters in the Rear Window-inspired music video for Belle & Sebastian’s “Poor Boy” (2018) has a nice wall and boards. Her apartment is the left-most on the second floor."

Belle And Sebastian - everything is now part one, 2018

"The song begins with a brief instrumental opening, but it transitions quickly into vocals within the first 10-15 seconds, featuring Stuart Murdoch’s voice over a lush arrangement of strings, synths, and percussion."

Belle And Sebastian - the same star, 2018

"Sarah gets to front one song per EP, though in the latter two examples she gets a pretty heavy assist from Stuart, and that’s fine, because I love how these two play off of each other, with a lot of the songs they collaborate on feeling like two sides of a conversation."

Belle And Sebastian - everything is now part two, 2018

"Two months after the December 2017 release of EP 1, we finally got the payoff promised by its (mostly) instrumental closing track. This time, we’ve got lyrics all the way through, and there’s a sort of satisfaction to finally filling in those blanks and finding out what sort of existential crisis the phrase “Everything is different now” (or alternatively, “Everything’s indifferent now”) was actually referring to. Calm and collected as this song is, Stuart actually seems to be trying to talk someone down from a ledge, where they’re feeling completely hopeless and hemmed in by a cruel fate, ready to call it quits on life altogether."

Belle And Sebastian - the girl doesn't get it, 2018

"The band’s palette might be far broader than it was 20 years ago – the bouncing disco of The Girl Doesn’t Get It contrasting nicely with the stripped-back balladry of There Is an Everlasting Song."

Belle And Sebastian - play for today, 2015

"Belle & Sebastian’s Girls in Peacetime Want to Dance was released early in the year to little fanfare. Twenty years into their remarkable career, the Scottish septet doesn’t excite critics the way they used to. It’s a shame, because the record is solid start to finish, not the best thing they’ve ever recorded but better than pretty much everything else released in 2015. Guess that’s just shooting par for these guys. The 7-plus minute ‘Play For Today’ grabbed me immediately. Performed as a duet by B&S frontman Stuart Murdoch and Dee Dee Penny of the L.A.-based indie band Dum Dum Girls, the song uses theater as a metaphor for depression."

Belle And Sebastian - the ghost of rockschool, 2010

"For 15 years, Belle & Sebastian have been releasing albums chock full of literate, gorgeous pop music. They’ve recorded so many string-and-horn embellished soft rock songs that it’s hard to believe there’s a melody or a trumpet solo out there that they haven’t hit on yet. But in 2010 they did it again. Their latest album, Write About Love, features a handful of tracks as good as anything the band has put out over the past decade. Par for the course. My favorite of the new songs is ‘The Ghost of Rockschool,’ a Stuart Murdoch special that weaves in his trademark religious references and a trumpet performance by band member Mick Cooke that makes me want to weep or cheer. I think I could attribute about 45% of my adoration of Belle & Sebastian to Mick Cooke’s trumpet playing. Invariably my favorite songs of theirs feature his sublime work. Note to all bands, both established and up-and-coming: Get yourself a trumpet player!"

Belle And Sebastian - write about love, 2010

"The song features some singing from Oscar-nominated actress Carey Mulligan (An Education)."

Belle And Sebastian - i want the world to stop, 2010

"Mainly, though, what impresses about Write About Love is its consistency, both within the album itself and within Belle & Sebastian’s work at large. Song for song, it’s as strong as any of their records - if anything, these 11 songs are the tightest they have ever been - and Stuart Murdoch remains faithful to the aesthetic he essayed at the outset of his career, finding sustenance in the fine details, his obsessions carrying the weight of passion."

Belle And Sebastian - i love my car, 2001

"I Love My Car is a hilariously sweet ditty with insanely twee lyrics and that darn Uptown Shufflers om-pom-pom band that supported them on the last tour. You’ll either find it horrifying or endearing, as with the sleeve photos showing the band members holding various cute dogs."

Belle And Sebastian - the loneliness of a middle distance runner, 2001

"The Loneliness of the Long-Distance Runner" is a short story by Alan Sillitoe, published in 1959 as part of a short story collection of the same title. The work focuses on Smith, a poor Nottingham teenager from a dismal home in a working class area, who has bleak prospects in life and few interests beyond petty crime. The boy experiences social alienation and turns to long-distance running as a method of both emotional and physical escape from his situation."

Belle And Sebastian - big john shaft, 2002

"Though some of the other songs, such as "I Don't Want to Play Football," are disappointingly short, more substantial songs like "Big John Shaft," the surprisingly upbeat "Scooby Driver," and the bouncy title track make the album worthwhile for die-hard Belle & Sebastian fans. The only real misstep is the inclusion of so much dialogue from the film -- it didn't work that well in the movie, and in this context it's especially distracting. In all, Storytelling is a frustrating release from Belle & Sebastian; it's not exactly a complete album, it's not as satisfying as their best EPs, and yet it displays enough of the group's charm that it's difficult to dismiss entirely."

Such a great song!

Belle And Sebastian - fiction reprise, 2002

"The "Fiction Reprise" is a track by Belle and Sebastian from their 2002 album Storytelling, which was the soundtrack for the film of the same name directed by Todd Solondz. The song is a brief, instrumental reprise of the earlier track "Fiction" from the same album, lasting about 1 minute and 22 seconds. It features a gentle, melancholic melody with the band's signature lo-fi, chamber-pop sound, incorporating soft guitar strums and subtle orchestral elements. The Storytelling album was recorded in 2001 and released in 2002 via Jeepster Records, with the band working under constraints due to the film's production needs, which influenced the minimalistic and fragmented nature of some tracks, including "Fiction Reprise."

Belle And Sebastian - fuck this shit, 2002

"Fuck This Shit" is an instrumental track by Belle and Sebastian, featured on their 2002 album Storytelling, which serves as the soundtrack for the Todd Solondz film of the same name. The song is a brief, quirky interlude, clocking in at just over two minutes, with a lo-fi, almost improvisational feel. It blends jangly guitars, a plodding rhythm, and a touch of whimsy, characteristic of the band's indie pop sound. The title, bold and unfiltered, contrasts with the band's typically gentle aesthetic, reflecting a playful rebellion or frustration that aligns with the film's darkly comedic tone."

Belle And Sebastian - black and white unite, 2002

"Much like the film Storytelling itself, which was drastically edited and censored before finally reaching theaters at a running time just short of 90 minutes, Belle & Sebastian's music for the movie barely appeared in the final cut. All of their work appears on Storytelling, for better or worse - it's an occasionally jumbled, yet undeniably pleasant, collection that unsurprisingly feels like a hybrid of a proper Belle & Sebastian album and a more traditional film score. The strings, horns, and harmonicas that drive instrumental tracks like "Freak," "Night Walk," "Consuelo," and "Fuck This Shit" have a definite retro vibe that also extends to songs like "Wandering Alone" and "Black and White Unite," which sounds a bit like the band covering Simon & Garfunkel's soundtrack for The Graduate."

Belle And Sebastian - we are the sleepyheads, 2006

"Here, Belle & Sebastian dabble in glam rock, lazy lounge jazz, and ersatz blues, enhancing their swinging '60s pop fixation with horn charts, the occasional flute, and Motown rhythms, while even rocking harder than ever before (but that's on a relative scale, of course). This results in a fresh, lively listen, but a rich one too, since there's more to hear in the music as well as the words upon repeated listens."