Belle and Sebastian - Days of The Bagnold Summer

Most of the things you can say or write about Belle & Sebastian are probably going to be wrong, except one thing for sure - they were and still are one of the best musical projects around. That includes any form of modern music you can imagine, because they have probably done it all, rarely at any moment dropping bellow their level of excellence. And those rare moments you can probably count on less than one set of your fingers.

No exception with their latest release, Days of The Bagnold Summer. And why does the B&S excellence show again? It’s like this - the album is a soundtrack to a film based on a graphic novel by Joff Winterhart, which was turned into a feature film and the directorial debut of Simon Bird (The Inbetweeners, Friday Night Dinner). Sounds quite a simple task, doesn’t it?

Actually, it is usually one of the hardest, particularly for the artists that usually are not specifically writing soundtrack music - you have to follow the music of the images they are supposed to accompany, mostly instrumental and then, you eventually have to turn it into a self-standing music album that has to have its own head and tail. Add to that a fact that Belle & Sebastian are not exactly an instrumental band, but one whose voices and lyrics are one, if not their main features.

But Stuart Murdoch and all the musicians involved this time around, like most of the time in their opus so far, resolve the problems admirably, as usual. Without seeing the film it is not possible to comment on how their music fits the screen images, but B&S are able to present both instrumental and vocal compositions in the best possible manner that is actually expected of them.

Whether it is the instrumental sequences, the old and new songs Murdoch and co. present here, it is Belle & Sebastian at its best - seemingly easy-going music, that is at the same time complex and engaging and where Murdoch doesn’t leave his lyrical aplomb elsewhere:

“I know where the summer goes
When you’re having no fun
When you’re under the thumb
I know where the summer dwells
When your underarm smells
And your kitchen looks like hell” (“I Know Where The Summer Goes”)

If any of the long-time fans felt a little let down by their recent funk and soul explorations (don’t know why, but anyway), Days of The Bagnold Summer will feel like staple Belle & Sebastian.