Tag Archives: The Life Pursuit

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Song of the Day #6,606a: ‘Act of the Apostle’ – Belle and Sebastian

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.

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Song of the Day #1,866: ‘Funny Little Frog’ – Belle & Sebastian

thelifepursuit#4 – The Life Pursuit – Belle & Sebastian

The most-represented year in this little reconsideration of top ten lists past is 2006, with four albums. And the top-ranked among those four seven years ago remains the top-ranked today.

At the time, I made a case for Belle & Sebastian’s The Life Pursuit as the best album in the band’s catalog. Today I stand by that assessment with even more confidence.

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Song of the Day #1,327: ‘Dress Up in You’ – Belle & Sebastian

More than 1,300 songs into this Song of the Day project, I’m still occasionally surprised to discover something I haven’t posted on the blog.

Recently, today’s SOTD — a standout track from Belle & Sebastian’s 2006 album The Life Pursuit — popped up on my car stereo and brought the same smile to my face that it always does.

“This would make a good Song of the Day,” I thought to myself, then immediately assumed it had been one already.

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Song of the Day #189: ‘Another Sunny Day’ – Belle & Sebastian

lifepursuit1So far this week I’ve concentrated on Belle and Sebastian’s early work, but now I jump ahead to their last studio album, 2006’s The Life Pursuit. This is their least twee effort to date, with a more muscular, fleshed-out sound and more complicated production.

Some fans aren’t thrilled with the direction the band has taken on this album and its predecessor, Dear Catastrophe Waitress, but I feel the opposite. I consider this some of their strongest work and song-for-song The Life Pursuit might be their most consistently excellent album. All the usual touches are there but also a confidence and a taste for experimentation that suits them well.

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