Belle & Sebastian - If You're Feeling Sinister (1996)

Belle and Sebastian's startling second album arrived at the perfect time. Britpop had taken the charts by storm and indie music was beginning to infiltrate the mainstream. IYFS sounded so completely different, full of folk fuelled moments, insightful lyrics and sleeve notes that tickle that funny bone you thought you never had. IYFS offered a delightful alternative to the Oasis rock and roll beast, it might not have been an obvious record but most classics rarely are. There is an aura to the grooves that approaches cuts like the Stone Roses that was released a few years earlier. The fact that success was still light years away meant that cult type things started happening. Scant interviews, dodgy half-lit photographs (it was next to impossible to find out what they looked like), ultra loyal fans and a v-sign cast in the general direction of the music industry. A band forging ahead by doing it their way, with the obvious result that sales were hit (in the interim at least).

So what does the music sound like? Well it´s low key a lot of the time and at first you might wonder what all the fuss is about. After a time though the quality shines through. 'Stars of Track and Field' is the ambitious opener/slow burner that reveals its beauty by about the third listen. Find yourself humming it incessantly until your concerned folks call for medical assistance. Stuart Murdoch may hide behind Nick Drake's cloak but underneath there is genuine talent. 'Seeing Other People' is the star of the IYFS show, a skidding piano riff, a xylophone plinking join the racing vocal that knows exactly where it’s heading. 'Me And The Major' and 'Like Dylan In The Movies' continue in the same vein and you wonder whether they can maintain this pace and quality for the whole album. The answer is most definitely yes, because even though ‘Fox In The Snow’ brings the gallop to a canter it's a stallion of a tune.

There's a lovely swing that runs right through the album that gives you the confidence to play it to your friends and feel proud that you discovered them first. Watch your status in your circle of friends elevate as a result. Crack open the fake champagne to the celebratatory strains of 'Mayfly' and get drunk on the closing track 'Judy And The Dream Of Horses'. While a lot of albums store the weaker tracks near the end, don't be fooled here as it's a romper stomper effort that develops out of humble beginnings. If You're Feeling Sinister is near impossible to fault. The cover design has a plush red texture, mimicking in some way the colour of your cheeks after one too many listens. Belle and Sebastian have a back catalogue to die for, for many this is their defining moment.


Rating: 8/10



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