#9 on the 2015 Bacon Top 31

Girls in Peacetime Want to Dance by Belle and Sebastian

It’s been five years since Belle and Sebastian came out with Write About Love, which reached #13 on the 2010 Top 31. I can’t say I’ve listened much at all to that album since then. I believe Girls in Peacetime Want to Dance, their ninth record, will be different.

Belle and Sebastian, from Glasgow, Scotland, are what I would call twee pop. You can easily imagine a Wes Anderson movie with a Belle and Sebastian soundtrack (come on guys, make this happen!). Up until now, strings and soft-spoken story-based lyrics have been their stock in trade. But Peacetime has them trying a new direction: dance pop. There are many songs on this album that don’t sound very traditional Belle and Sebastian, but I’m overjoyed that after 20 years they’re still pushing the boundaries. Songs like “The Party Line,” “Enter Sylvia Plath,” “Perfect Couples” (be sure to watch the amazing video above), and “Play for Today,” my personal favorite from the album, all have a driving beat that makes me want to get up and dance.

If you’ve had trouble getting into Belle and Sebastian in the past, I urge you to give this album a test run. You may be pleasantly surprised by the differences you hear. And if you’ve been a fan of Belle and Sebastian for a long time, you may not like the new direction they’ve headed. For me, they’ve always been great, and I don’t think of this move as good or bad. It’s a different sound, and it’s that ability to be different that I applaud.

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10. Return to the Moon by El Vy
11. Hamilton (Original Broadway Cast Recording) by Lin-Manuel Miranda
12. Art Angels by Grimes
13. The Horse Comanche by Chadwick Stokes
14. Grace Love & the True Loves by Grace Love & the True Loves
15. Shake Shook Shaken by The dø
16. La Di Da Di by Battles
17. Sky City by Amason
18. What a Terrible World, What a Beautiful World by The Decemberists
19. Untethered Moon by Built to Spill
20. Viet Cong by Viet Cong
21. The Magic Whip by Blur
22. Savage Hills Ballroom by Youth Lagoon
23. Not Real by Stealing Sheep
24. Beat the Champ by The Mountain Goats
25. Gliss Riffer by Dan Deacon
26. Dark Bird is Home by The Tallest Man on Earth
27. Gunnera by Pfarmers
28. Swimmer to a Liquid Armchair by Ricked Wickey
29. To Pimp a Butterfly by Kendrick Lamar
30. Live in Seattle by Moufang / Czamanski
31. High by Royal Headache

What is the Bacon Top 31?
Past years’ Top 31s

Belle & Sebastian — Nobody’s Empire

Believe it or not, Belle and Sebastian has been around for twenty years. The band formed in 1996 with neither a Belle nor a Sebastian in the band, which remains true to this day. That was the year they recorded and released their first two (beautiful) albums Tigermilk and If You’re Feeling Sinister. This past January, the band released their ninth studio album, Girls in Peacetime Want to Dance.

I’ve been listening to this album for a couple months now and it’s really grown on me — the first Belle and Sebastian album to win me over in a very long time. It’s a departure from the late 90s / early oughts B&S albums I learned to love, but if you’ve liked more recent Belle and Sebastian, then this album will feel just right. A little more disco, a little more dancey, new Belle and Sebastian is more upbeat and exciting than the melancholy music you may have first heard from them nearly two decades ago.

The song above, “Nobody’s Empire,” isn’t the best song on the album, but it’s a good example of what you can expect. Plus, it’s fun to watch actress Tamzin Merchant lip sync to Stuart Murdoch’s lyrics. Definitely check out the rest of the album. It’s worth it. And if you’re able, get tickets to see them at the Paramount tonight. It‘s going to be great.

#16 on the 2013 Musical Bacon Calendar

We Are the 21st Century Ambassadors of Peace & Magic by Foxygen

Rolling Stones, the Velvet Underground, the Kinks — these names evoke a varied number of musical memories, and each of these band’s own respective histories are so diverse that those memories and nearly-forgotten emotions must be different for each person. Which makes stating these artists as clear influences on the album at #16 all the more strange. How does a band combine the sounds of them all in a solid, cohesive, perfectly rock & roll album? Foxygen and their 2013 album We Are the 21st Century Ambassadors of Peach & Magic are here to show you.

Foxygen has been around in one form or another since 2005. They languished in the California indie rock scene for many years before catching the ear of producer Richard Swift (who just happens to have produced one of my favorites from 2012: Damien Jurado’s Maraqopa, which came in at #5 on The Calendar last year.

I’m not familiar with Foxygen’s pre-Swift recordings, so I can’t speak to how much of an influence he’s had on the band. But what I do know is there’s now two stellar Richard Swift-produced albums, and I’m anxious to hear what he does next. But before we get to that, you should give Foxygen a listen. In addition to the influences I mentioned above, you can hear other influences as well (like Belle & Sebastian in the above video for “San Francisco”). The album definitely harkens back to an earlier time, and depending on which passage you’re listening to currently, that time could vary by about 50 years. Something tells me the album will last for a similar length of time.

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17. Lanters by Son Lux
18. Howlin’ by Jagwar Ma
19. Impersonator by Majical Cloudz
20. Dream Cave by Cloud Control
21. Mole City by Quasi
22. Phantogram by Phantogram
23. Julia With Blue Jeans On by Moonface
24. Uncanney Valley by The Dismemberment Plan
25. Event II by Deltron 3030
26. Wise Up Ghost by Elvis Costello and The Roots
27. Us Alone by Hayden
28. Pure Heroine by Lorde
29. Shaking the Habitual by The Knife
30. False Idols by Tricky
31. Let’s Be Still by The Head and the Heart

2012 Musical Bacon Calendar
2011 Musical Bacon Calendar
2010 Musical Bacon Calendar
2009 Musical Bacon Calendar

Fun song and video from Scottish darlings Belle and Sebastian, from their rarities and b-sides album, The Third Eye Centre, that came out earlier this year. This particular song, “Your Cover’s Blown” was remixed by Miaoux Miaoux, also from Scotland.

#13 on the 2010 Musical Bacon Calendar

Write About Love by Belle and Sebastian

With eight studio albums under their belt, spanning 14 years, most everybody has heard of Belle and Sebastian. And if you haven’t heard of them, you’ve certainly heard their music played: in the background of a movie scene, while shopping at Urban Outfitters, or somewhere else that music is played without your control. Chances are you didn’t notice it, as that is what I believe to be the difficulty in listening to Belle & Sebastian: the sameness. If you’ve heard any of their previous albums, then you’re already well-versed in what can be expected on Write About Love. Even though a decade and a half has passed since the band debuted with Tigermilk, it’s as if nothing has changed in music in that time.

But that’s ok by me. It’s a formula, but it works. Each of their songs are short stories, making it a little difficult to sing along to the words, as each line is different than the previous. The lyrics are pretty, but spoken or sung quietly and without much rise and fall in volume.

With all this said, you may be wondering why a band such as this could be ranked so high on the MBC, and it’s really hard to quantify. The band produces solid album after solid album, with very few missteps. Pick up any of their albums and you won’t be disappointed (my favorite of theirs changes from week to week). Feel free to start with Write About Love and work your way backwards. It should be as pleasant a journey as I have been on with them over the years.

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14. Wild Smile by Suckers
15. Learning by Perfume Genius
16. Forgiveness Rock Record by Broken Social Scene
17. Expo 86 by Wolf Parade
18. One Life Stand by Hot Chip
19. Big Echo by The Morning Benders
20. Here’s To Taking It Easy by Phosphorescent
21. This is Happening by LCD Soundsystem
22. The Mistress by Yellow Ostrich
23. Halcyon Digest by Deerhunter
24. Been Listening by Johnny Flynn
25. The Wild Hunt by The Tallest Man on Earth
26. Lisbon by The Walkmen
27. Scratch My Back by Peter Gabriel
28. All Day by Girl Talk
29. A Storm – A Tree – My Mother’s Head by Bobby Bare Jr.
30. 03 to TEN by Knathan Ryan
31. In This Light On This Evening by Editors