Continuing a countdown of my favorite albums of 2006…
#1 – The Life Pursuit – Belle and Sebastian
My favorite 2006 album is one of my favorite releases by one of my favorite artists, and therefore a shoo-in for this spot.
After four gentle indie pop releases between the mid-90s and 2000, Scottish septet Belle and Sebastian entered the 2000s with the goal of expanding their sound. Dear Catastrophe Waitress (2003) was their first foray into a more upbeat electronic territory, and The Life Pursuit continued that evolution.
Some fans were unhappy with the direction, appalled that their beloved twee sad sacks were suddenly releasing music you could dance to. But the records featured the same clever lyrics, expert musicianship, and wry personality as the early albums.
My favorite Belle and Sebastian album is the early classic If You’re Feeling Sinister, but The Life Pursuit is right there with it. Depending on my mood, I might switch the order. I think the albums complement each other perfectly, and round out the band’s profile beautifully.
I was lucky enough to see B&S in concert earlier this year, and the two tracks they played from this album went over like gangbusters. They closed the set with The Life Pursuit‘s lead single, ‘Funny Little Frog,’ and it turned the concert hall into a rollicking block party.
Experiencing that performance drove home one of the main drivers behind the band’s musical shift — the desire to amp up their live shows. The gentler music played wonderfully, too, but sometimes you want to get the crowd jumping.
The Life Pursuit does a little of both, featuring charming ballads alongside funky singalongs. ‘Dress Up in You,’ with its gorgeous trumpet solo, would fit right in on the early albums, while ‘We Are the Sleepyheads’ sounds like a speed metal song performed by Oompa Loompas (complimentary). The album bursts with creativity, soul, and smarts.
🎵 More Belle and Sebastian 🎵
→ All of my Belle and Sebastian coverage
She was late for class and she knew it
The broadcaster had a voice that was soothing
She couldn’t tell if it was a man or woman
A patch of sun fell onto her desk
She put her head on her arms on her neckThe lesson today was the Acts of Apostles
The crazy hippies, they’re running scared
She shut her eyes and imagined the desert
No cars, no mobiles, just sun and bread
What would she look like standing by the well?
More like a woman and less like a girl
Oh, if I could make sense of it all!
I wish that I could sing
I’d stay in a melody
I would float along in my everlasting song
What would I do to believe?’
Later on she plays Morning Has Broken
She knows she’s bad
She is slowing everybody down
The choirmaster, usually a bastard, knows her mother’s sick
He’ll be nice to her
She thinks that she shouldn’t be there at all
Her worries make everything else seem trivial
Oh, if I could make sense of it all!
I wish that I could sing
I’d stay in a melody
I would float along in my everlasting song
What would I do to believe?’
Meet Me In Montauk 
Since commercial success has largely eluded B&S, my exposure to their music has come exclusively from you, but I have always liked what I heard. Will have to check out the rest of this album.
I don’t know anything about them except that you’re a fan. I do like their sound though.