Tigermilk

I love this album, and I do think Belle & Sebastian is one of those artists who gets better with repeated listens. A few years back, A.C. Newman of The New Pornographers listed "The State I Am In" as one of his favorite songs. I gave it a listen, and didn't really get it, but because Newman is one of my favorite songwriters, I decided to listen to "The State I Am In" some more. I remember slowly coming to see the genius of the song—not just musically, but lyrically too! The lyrics seem strange and nonsensical, but as you study them, you realize they all connect into one story. So many interesting observations. One of my favorite lyrics of all time is "And so I gave myself to God / There was a pregnant pause before he said Okay." So good.

After falling in love with that song, I eventually fell in love with the whole record. There's an argument to be made that this is the first "Indie Rock" album, at least in the modern sense of Indie Rock as a genre. Like REM's Murmur, it sounds like it came one decade too early. I'm lucky to already know and love the album—if this was my first time hearing it, it might receive 3 stars. But I think it really does deserve the 5.

Ein charmantes, leicht schepperndes Debüt, das schon den typischen Belle‑&‑Sebastian‑Mix aus schüchterner Melancholie und literarischem Witz zeigt. „The State I Am In“ glänzt als stiller Klassiker, „Expectations“ trägt bittersüße Energie, und „My Wandering Days Are Over“ deutet das melodische Talent der Band an. Schön, aber noch hörbar roh – ein leiser Start mit Potenzial.

Sounds nice enough, but a little dull and flat for me.

I liked 'Expectations' a lot, although maybe it's just because I first heard it in 'Juno', but overall it was a nice, albeit lame, listen for an indie album. Almost the entire thing felt like it could have been a soundtrack, and it was much better than their second album. Like I said, it's lame, but it's enjoyable for a teenage white girl like myself.

Some B&S songs, I like. Some bit so much. I prefer Dear Catastrophe Waitress. Can be a little samey to the point of tedium.

Here’s my review from RYM: a lot of super nice cuts off of here! The first three songs are probably the best, though the last three are also great. The only song I really go back to at this point is The State I Am In, which might still be their best song to me. Expectations is a pretty nice song that does what pretty much only their songs do for me, which is tell a story that definitely describes something in my life, but a little bit more left-of-center than others (same thing with Like Dylan In The Movies). She's Losing It has some really well-written moments, and is a pretty fun song at its best. Other noteworthy moments are electronic renaissance, My Wandering Days Are Over, I Don't Love Anyone, and Mary Jo. Best song is still State though, and frankly the only one that should really matter to someone who cares less.
9.4/10

4.5? Always a band who I think I'll hate then get surprised how interesting they are. Particularly liked Expectations which feels like a lost Love cut but namechecks Debenhams and C&A

i had always assumed that they were a saccharine acoustic coffeeshop duet. delightfully surprised. easy listening in a pretty velvet underground kind of way

This is my first time listening to this Belle and Sebastian album. My only prior experience with the group was listening to "If You're Feeling Sinister." And I only listened to that because of this site.

As with "If You're Feeling Sinister," this just isn't doing anything for me. The music is kind of boring, and the singer also sounds bored of the music.

Well that's 42 minutes I will never get back.
The very definition of unremarkable.

Not even my favorite B&S record but it was a joy to listen to this today.

The music was quite pleasant. However, there wasn't a single track that made me want to listen to it again. The whole album hovered between nice and boring. 3/5

If there's one thing that I learned when I still a child it's to take up hiding.

Murdoch is a killer lyricist right out the gate, and although I’m not consistently convinced by his vocals at this stage in the game (I know he eventually sounds a bit stronger), I don’t think they’re a massive turnoff either. Highlights for me on first listen are “The State I Am In”, “You’re Just a Baby”, “I Could Be Dreaming”, “My Wandering Days Are Over”, and “I Don’t Love Anyone”. This is an album that I can see rising in estimation for me if I end up becoming a fan of this group as a whole.

3.5/5

A pretty chill listen with some nice moments. Not a lot that stood out above the crowd but I still enjoyed it well enough.

indie pop de melhor qualidade aqui. não tem jeito, eh bão demais e poucas bandas conseguem ser igual, apesar de ser simples!

eu gosto MUITO deles, viu. não sei se eh nostalgia ou o quê. mas eh doideira que teoricamente eh tudo que eu mais tenho preguiça de escutar, eh calmim demais. mas eh tão bão...... dito isso, só não é 5 porque não eh o if you're feeling sinister.

I love the album If You're Feeling Sinister and for years I tried to like anything else by them and it never happens.

On this record, the vibe is very poppy but it doesn't have the requisite hooks to pull it off.

sise, prevelke pa vise :(

omot i kafansku šaljivdžijskost na stranu, ovo je odlično i sad mi je toliko žao zašto nisam na svoju inicijativu slušao, a V. mi je puštala. usb, smiješno automobilsko sučelje kojim kao suvozač tu-i-tamo baratam. zažmirim dok slušam i eto me u tom malom crveno-bijelom autu, na varaždinskim ulicama, na putu do virja, u možda naj-suncem-obasjanijim uspomenama koje uzgajam. bilo, prošlo, umrlo, a ipak... nevjerojatno koliko glazba može uskrisiti.

osjećam nekakvu sretnu sjetu, sjetnu sreću dok ovo slušam. možda zbog mojih asocijacija, a možda i ne. u svakom slučaju na mene djeluje upravo kako glazba uopće i treba da djeluje. dobit će lijepu peticu od mene, premda su mi peta i šesta stvar nešto slabije. ko ga jebe. najbolja mi je možda "expectations", al sve su osim maločas spomenutih manje-više nedorasle a samostalne divotice

I was put off right off the bat as his soft, indie voice floated onto the first track… but I was quite quickly won over actually. That first track has something about it – and basically all later tracks have some kind of thing about them, be it a good melody or an interesting use of instrumentation or something else. The second track brings in violins and trumpets, but there’s also great use of synths as well. The whole thing is upbeat and fun. Part of my brain is worried about being outed as a ‘twee’ indie-rock enjoyer, but screw it. I have to give this some real credit for being such a diverse, creative album, and also a very listenable one.

3.5 rounded up.

It’s fine. I hate not having half stars. It just means pretty crappy and pretty good get the same goddamn rating.