BELLE & SEBASTIAN

The chamber-indie-twee-folk band from Glasgow took their name from a children’s book about a boy and his dog. Formed in 1996 as a social project for unemployed people, the septet quickly became firmly established in the pop world, and even contributed three songs for the soundtrack to the hit film Juno (2007). That film tells the story of teenage outsiders – a recurring theme in Belle & Sebastian’s songs, most of which are penned by the bandleader, singer, guitarist and keyboard player Stuart Murdoch. Cult producer Trevor Horn polished the initially unadorned sound, adding lavishly orchestrated layers, and the 2015 album Girls in Peacetime Want to Dance featured disco, klezmer, soul and Europop elements. But the band returned to their classic sound with A Bit of Previous in 2022. It’s an album that intoxicates the listener with its never-ending search for the perfect, bittersweet melody you just can’t get out of your head. The industrious Scottish band’s most recent release – Late Developers (2023) – is another richly melodic and astonishingly light-footed blend of joy and heartache. An absolute must see!