Belle and Sebastian, you may have heard, are doing the soundtrack to Todd Solondz's forthcoming film,
Storytelling.
I'm Waking Up To Us is intended as a foretaste, inasmuch as three songs that don't appear in the film can be considered to be a teaser for those that do.
Actually, as Belle and Sebastian songs go, these are fairly robust and enjoyable outings, though all of them deal with screwed-up romantic relationships. Both "I'm Waking Up To Us" and "I Love My Car" temper their whimsy with surprising strength. "I'm Waking Up To Us" couches its tale ofirreconcilable differences in a flurry of seventies-style orchestral pop flourishes; a twenty-person string and reed section makes this one of the richest-sounding B&S songs in ages. "I Love My Car" aims for more of a whimsical sixties feel, ably supported by the horn-section goodness of DaveWilson and the Uptown Shufflers. The lyrics are predictably sing-song, including not only a nod to Mike Love but a titillating use of the word "pussy" (calm down; they're talking about cats).
The most entertaining thing about "Marx And Engels" is its liner note credit: "We managed to play this by ourselves." Perhaps such an admission is necessary after the two orchestral tunes, but "Marx And Engels" is standard B&S: shy, clever and bookish, mixing unrequited love, riot girlsand slightly pompous philosophy. Paired with two songs that sound almost nothing like it, it shines.
If only Belle and Sebastian could stretch this EP's sure-footedness across an entire album, everyone would buy it.
