With a few exceptions, it's inevitable that most bands are going to disappoint in one way or another once their career has progressed to a certain point. Sometimes key members leave, sometimes the same spark that once was becomes numb, or maybe the trajectory of sound has just reached a less-than-satisfactory place for their core constituent of hardcore fans. If any band has had such complaints thrown at them seemingly since the beginning, it's been Belle & Sebastian. The number of times the ubiquitous Scottish twee-poppers have become "has-beens" is a burden that no band should be forced to carry, especially that early in their career. Following their big breakthrough If You're Feeling Sinister, they "lost it" on its fanatically anticipated follow-up The Boy With The Arab Strap. And after everyone began to see the charms on record number three, they then "lost it" on the overly-democratic, but no-less delightful Fold Your Hands Child, You Walk Like Peasant. And let's not forget that they "lost it" on the Rough Trade-backed Dear Catastrophe Waitress. It seems with each record, the collective bear the haphazard scrutiny of the entire indie-pop community, only to have such grumbling drift into nothingness once something catches on.
To be perfectly honest though, Belle & Sebastian aren't as impressive and singular as they once were. Gone are principal songwriter Stuart Murdoch's once beautifully morose and witty musings, which felt like a dream-world meeting point between Nick Drake's Bryter Layter and the dry, caustic humor of Morrissey. The group had so much more depth than the "twee" label they were tagged with from the start indicated; even if musically the songs approached the whimsy of The Free Design, the lyrics and wordplay had all the imagery and genius of the writers and cult figures Murdoch so often felt vocally indebted to. And after losing a few members following the tumultuous Fold Your Hands Child period (most notably Isobel Campbell), it's easy to see how Belle & Sebastian became a different band, one that can be too kitschy and clever for its own good, but that still possesses enough charm and passion for those willing to look. Taking the new Belle & Sebastian as an independent entity, one that is unlikely to leave anytime soon, it's much easier to withstand their current output without feeling overwhelmingly let-down.
That said, The Life Pursuit, for all of its enjoyable moments, is the weakest link in their catalog thus far. Their last album, Dear Catastrophe Waitress, saw the band's precious folk nuances make way for a more expansive and bombastic palette of meta-kitsch. Much in the way Scott Walker subverted the easy listening crowd by singing about prostitutes and cross-dressers, Murdoch and his remaining pals have brought a rebellious streak to the cheesy pop it so lovingly aped. If the discomforting hints of Hair, variety shows, and other such beacons of oft-dubious taste are too much for some, Belle & Sebastian thankfully avoid the irony trap for the most part by embracing the brassy attitude of their new aura. On The Life Pursuit, things are pretty much kept the same as on Dear Catastrophe Waitress, only with a little more obvious jumping from sub-genre to sub-genre, making for a delirious, frustrating, and usually fun listen.
On their return to Matador, Murdoch (who takes almost total control here, perhaps too late for some) and company keep things at a Godspell-level of effervescence, and the ventures into such seemingly random areas as shiny happy showtunes ("Song For Sunshine") and disposable glam-rock ("The Blues Are Still Blue") seem to exist solely to convince their audience that they're a collective impossible to peg down. Still, it's hard to take songs like "Song For Sunshine" and "Sukie In The Graveyard" as little more than escapist mistakes that may have made for an easily-ignored b-side, but disrupt the party here like the overly-eager theater kid trying desperately to impress the other guests. "The Blues Are Still Blue," with its T. Rex-ish guitar hook, is in fact the only genre experiment that proves surprisingly successful, as Murdoch and company aptly emulate the superfluous joy that the glam movement held in its prime.
Although it seems a bit closed-minded to say it, Belle & Sebastian are at best here when they play it safe. Openers "Act Of The Apostle, Pt. 1" and "Another Sunny Day" are proof enough that a potentially gratingly jolly Belle & Sebastian can still produce moments of soothing pop brilliance (especially true with the latter), while "Funny Little Frog" and "For The Price Of A Cup Of Tea" are two of the band's best mimicking of innocuous '70s radio pop to date, proving that although it's been done too much for comfort in the indie-pop world, only these Scots seem able to get it right.
Still, it's hard to see The Life Pursuit as little more than a guarded follow-up to Dear Catastrophe Waitress, and its predecessor at least had a few brilliant singles ("Step Into My Office, Baby" and "I'm A Cuckoo") that made this new version of Belle & Sebastian worth defending. This album is acceptable enough for those who've stuck with them up until this point, and although it's relishable in many spots, there's still a sense that much of this new chapter had been done too much before for anyone else to start carrying the reins. Those hoping for a return to days past, back when the collective became a Generation-Y version of The Smiths, will inevitably be disappointed, but those expecting such déjà vu from 1996 should probably know better. In the end, one feels torn between how to approach Belle & Sebastian at this point in their career. They certainly have a grasp on what they're creating, but it hurts a little bit to think that the mysterious band-that-could from ten years back cares less for innovation than simply having a fleeting good time.
1. Act Of The Apostle, Part I
2. Another Sunny Day
3. White Collar Boy
4. The Blues Are Still Blue
5. Dress Up In You
6. Sukie In The Graveyard
7. We Are The Sleepyheads
8. Song For Sunshine
9. Funny Little Frog
10. To Be Myself Completely
11. Act Of The Apostle, Part II
12. For The Price Of A Cup Of A Tea
13. Mornington Crescent
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