A new Belle and Sebastian album is something to celebrate, especially when it’s been some five years since the last one. At the same time, any new album of theirs has a lot to live up to, and I couldn’t be happier with this one. I might not put it right up with some of their earlier stuff, but it has certainly meant an awful lot to me this year, in more ways than one.
It’s poppy and retro, with several songs (including the title track, with Carey Mulligan guesting) that would be perfectly at home in a 1960s film, but also with a melancholic undertone on other songs that gives the album as a whole a nicely balanced feel. Every song on here just makes me feel happy, comfortable, and safe.