Belle and Sebastian have been at the gym, here exhibiting a tuned/toned-up sound and a bit more muscle in the arrangements. Though the stories of vulnerability to bullies and other forces of nature remain, though the songs are twee beautiful, the sound leaps out at you more than in the past. Stuart’s vox are more confident, less wavery, and more on key. The instrumentation, while still on the acoustic end of the spectrum, is more deliberate, less tentative. I’m not saying B&S have gone pop star, nooooo, but they evidently have grokked that in addition to their good humor and the universality of their emotions, they’re just a bit special too – great songwriters and clever chaps and chappies. Their show at the Greek Theater was proof of this confidence – to them giving it a basis and to the audience giving it a public forum. This album runs along those same lines. Almost all of it is mind-bogglingly great.

1. Swingin’ dance/pop tune; great hook, syncopated rhythm, naughty office romance lyrics
2. Rapidly strummy, with quick violin and horn scales
3. Strings pulling a 70s vibe country/folk rock tune
4. Shaggy dog story lyrics; straight folkie solo guitar and voice
5. Elaborately arranged; delicate yet vibrant
6. Frightful flashback to an awful 70s Orleans song (“Still the One”) on the chorus but the verses are quite jolly
7. Upbeat kiss off song playing off the old Sam Cooke song “You Send Me”
8. 60s feel with organ and big hook
9. The inevitable sad tale of the smart kid, the transvestite kid, being bullied; “take heart, you’ll soon be old enough to leave them” is the advice given; strings, piano swell to the edge of full-on schmaltz … then cleverly avoided by humorous “Anthony, it can’t be worse” chorus
10. Joyous 60s-ish ode to the feeling of being in love
11. Great bookend to track one; same syncopation, catchy tune, and a short but grungy guitar solo in the middle
12. Farfisa-driven funky coda that must be a tribute to early Elvis Costello; gorgeous guitar solo in the middle is a-Costello-ish though