Belle & Sebastian
Girls in Peacetime want to Dance
[Beggars Group]
Even in Belle &Sebastian’s fullest sounding moments of pop pomp, there was always certain frailty to the experience, big songs made by small people. Sadly, all is changed here. There is a pervasive stench of desperation from the get go. Burbling synths, African drumming and other gimmickry uniformly fail to hit the mark and, above all else, just seems forced. Occasional glimpses of the Belles of yore sneak through, but it merely elicits the same hollow feeling as watching a new episode of The Simpsons.
Words: Danny Wilson
