Belle and Sebastian review, What to Look for in Summer: A rousing live album reminds us what we’re missing

Album’s sprawling tracklist is a testament to the band’s knack for consistency 

Annabel Nugent
Thursday 10 December 2020 14:16 GMT
Comments
Scottish indie pop group shines in live album
Scottish indie pop group shines in live album (Will Byington)

Your support helps us to tell the story

From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.

At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.

The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.

Your support makes all the difference.

The live album is a difficult beast. As The Independent’s critic Graeme Ross recently wrote, “a good live album should have a special aura around it, giving the listener the sensation of actually being present at a momentous event”. Belle and Sebastian have managed just that.  

In many ways, the indie-pop ensemble are the ideal candidates for a live record. Their back catalogue has both recognisable hits for casual listeners and more obscure fare beloved by diehard fans. They’re also renowned for their magnetic live performances – a rousing energy that they successfully translate on to the 23-track What to Look for in Summer.

Among the album’s most impressive achievements is how a song like 2017’s “We Were Beautiful” fits seamlessly alongside 1996’s indie jangle-pop track “Seeing Other People”. Belle and Sebastian are nothing if not consistent.

However, it's not surprising – given the album’s length – that there are dips. It’s surprising to see folky duet “Beyond the Sunrise”, one of the band’s most divisive songs, included here. Much less of a surprise is the appearance of “The Boy with the Arab Strap”, a seven-minute play that allows time for frontman Stuart Murdoch’s charming ad-libbing. “It’s Sunday night, no one wants to come up, do they?” he says, chiding his audience. “You’re all too sleepy!”

It’s probably the pandemic’s impact on the live music scene that makes an album like this feel more welcome than it might have last year. It’s still not comparable to the real thing, but it does remind us of what we’re missing.  

Join our commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies

Comments

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in