If You’re Feeling Sinister by Belle and Sebastian (Review)

I’d like to think that I’m a pretty nice guy. I have some character flaws and faults, but who doesn’t? I’m probably pretty average-looking, no matter how much I try to act suave and smooth and tough. But I’m afraid it all amounts to squat. Because when it comes right down to it, I’m pretty average, white-bread, and plain.

Case in point: high school senior pictures. You’ve all had them. I’m sure you all remember them. I’m also sure you all remember that day in class when you went up to the all of the girls and asked for their photo. You’d get pictures from all of your friends, but if you were really lucky, you’d also get a picture or two from one of those cheerleaders, or one of the really popular girls. You’d feel like a big shooter, a real player. And then you’d read what they wrote — actually, hastily scribbled — on the back: “Stay smart and sweet. Don’t change a bit. You’re a real nice guy.”

Those words signal a deathblow to every guy’s ego. There’s nothing worse than being called a “nice guy” by some girl you have a crush on. Listening to If You’re Feeling Sinister, I have a sneaking sensation that Stuart David was called a “nice guy” many times throughout school. He was probably one of those skinny, pasty-white kids that got picked on in gym and was kind of quiet and shy.*

Musically, this album reminds me of Nick Drake so much, it’s not even funny. Lightly strummed acoustic guitars that sound perfect for staring out of a window on a rainy day are complemented with organs, trumpets, and string arrangements. Musically, this album is very pleasant, with well-crafted melodies and toe-tapping rhythms, drawing you in. But it’s the what they say and how they say it that grabs you and makes you listen to it again and again.

In the opening lines of “Get Me Away From Here, I’m Dying,” we hear Belle And Sebastian’s raison d’etre: “Ooh! Get me away from here, I’m dying, play me a song to set me free. Nobody writes them like they used to me, so it may as well be me.” But alas, noone seems to care. Does Stuart let this get him down. Heck no! He goes on with an honest innocence capable of overcoming any obstacle, eventually using his open-eyed naïveté to win it all. But then, you realize this naïveté is just a cover for some pointed wit.

Stuart’s songs are from the vantage of those who have been shunned by the popular kids, those who have been shunned by the adults. And rather than make his points with angst, he uses a delicate pathos, using the point rather than the edge of a lyrical sword. His lyrics are poetic, and full of self-deprecating charm wrapped up in a delicate voice that you can’t help but love. Listening to this band, you wish they get everything they long for, because if they do, that means there’s a small chance you might get it too.

* — For all I know, Stuart could have been the most popular guy in his class.