Album review: Belle and Sebastian, 'Write About Love'
2 stars (out of 4)
After bowing in the ‘90s with an impressive mixture of rich, orchestral-pop melody and witty, cutting wordplay, Belle and Sebastian gradually settled into a pleasant mid-period. In 2006, “The Life Pursuit” got the creative juices flowing again with a more pronounced rhythmic drive, a previously undetected swing that verged on sexiness and swagger. It was a promising evolution, but four years later the Scottish band’s new album, “Write About Love” (Matador), sounds like old news.
Mellowness prevails, epitomized by a collaboration with Norah Jones on "Little Lou, Ugly Jack, Prophet John." Despite firing off a few good punch lines, Stuart Murdoch’s usually pungent lyrics have gotten lazier too. With a few exceptions – the wistful-to-jaunty “I Didn’t See it Coming,” the Zombies-like snap of the title song – this is Belle and Sebastian at its most complacent.
greg@gregkot.com
Belle and Sebastian: 7:30 p.m. Monday at Chicago Theatre, 175 N. State St., $42.50; ticketmaster.com.