{"id":40760,"date":"2008-02-25T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2008-02-25T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/reviews\/dear-catastrophe-waitress\/"},"modified":"2008-02-25T00:00:00","modified_gmt":"2008-02-25T00:00:00","slug":"dear-catastrophe-waitress","status":"publish","type":"review","link":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/reviews\/dear-catastrophe-waitress\/","title":{"rendered":"Dear Catastrophe Waitress"},"content":{"rendered":"

When it comes to the bleak months of winter, even us spoiled Californians can\u2019t help but get a little blue having to let go of our beloved sun and surf for the dreary duration. So even though the lowest temperature dip here in lovely Los Angeles<\/st1:place><\/st1:city> has been in the fifties, it still helps to have cheerful music on hand to lift the spirits. Enter Glaswegian imports Belle & Sebastian, whose signature upbeat and wistful indie-pop sound has landed them much critical appreciation since they formed in 1996. <\/o:p><\/p>\n

Dear Catastrophe Waitress, <\/i>the band\u2019s fifth album, is a warm, instantly accessible blend of stick-in-your-head harmonies and hyper-literate lyrics. Take dynamic opener and lead single \u201cStep Into My Office, Baby,\u201d which hurtles through countless tempo changes in the span of four minutes, yet never manages to sound anything but seamless. Add on hilariously tongue-in-cheek lyrics unfolding an illicit boss-subordinate relationship (\u201cStep into my office, baby\/I\u2019m going to give you the job\/I\u2019m pushing for a raise\/I\u2019ve been pushing now for days\u201d) and you\u2019ve got a gem of a track that sets the tone for the rest of the material to follow.<\/o:p><\/p>\n

Next up, the album\u2019s title track is brimming with sunny energy, combining lyricist and lead singer Stuart Murdoch\u2019s distinctive vocals with punchy touches of brass and a driving drum beat to create a polished pop sound. Meanwhile, I owe my introduction to Belle & Sebastian to the jangling, almost Caribbean beats of \u201cIf She Wants Me,\u201d which features shimmers of guitar and some of the album\u2019s best lyrics: \u201cIf I could do just one near perfect thing I\u2019d be happy\/They\u2019d write it on my grave, or when they scattered my ashes\/On second thoughts, I\u2019d rather hang around and be there with my best friend\/If she wants me,\u201d Murdoch sings in his alluring, lilting voice, making this lovely, hopeful song one of the album\u2019s standouts.<\/o:p><\/p>\n

Belle & Sebastian turns to riffing on Thin Lizzy on \u201cI\u2019m A Cuckoo,\u201d which bounces along to the same chord progression as \u201cThe Boys Are Back In Town\u201d with twin dueling guitars and a loose, soul-pop beat that sounds straight out of the seventies. Surprisingly, the track\u2019s lovelorn, ranting lyrics and Murdoch\u2019s unhinged delivery mesh well with its cheerily optimistic instrumentation.<\/o:p><\/p>\n

Sarah Martin, the band\u2019s violin player, takes lead vocals on \u201cAsleep On A Sunbeam,\u201d which is all breezy charm and more of the album\u2019s signature lighthearted, polished sound. Meanwhile, the most reminiscent of the band\u2019s earlier lo-fi, more folk-based sound is found on \u201cLord Anthony,\u201d which trades in the rest of the album\u2019s insouciant energy for stripped-down production, downbeat instrumentation and wistful vocals to tell the tale of the perpetual outcast. <\/o:p><\/p>\n

With its clever lyrics and shapeshifting but always stunning melodies, Dear Catastrophe Waitress <\/i>is one of those rare pop albums that has both style and substance. Though longstanding fans may not appreciate this latest evolution in the band\u2019s style, this album is most definitely worth checking out, and it\u2019s hard not to be swayed by Belle & Sebastian\u2019s wit and charm.<\/o:p><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":48,"featured_media":29221,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"artist":[6869],"rating":[5613],"class_list":["post-40760","review","type-review","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","artist-belle-and-sebastian","rating-rating-a-minus"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/review\/40760","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/review"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/review"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/48"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=40760"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/review\/40760\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/29221"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=40760"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"artist","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/artist?post=40760"},{"taxonomy":"rating","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rating?post=40760"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}