If You're Feeling Sinister

The first blind listen for me. I've heard the name, but never any music from Belle & Sebastian. A little research has informed me that this band contains neither a Belle nor a Sebastian. Instead, it was formed by two Scottish guys named Stuart. False advertisement aside, this is a decent project. It opens strong, then settles into an even keel that mostly faded into the background for me. On that note, it would probably be a great "staring out the window on a roadtrip" album. I think I've heard the title track before, but I can't remember where. I will give credit for the production because all the instruments sound so crisp and clear. But even when the instrumentation picked up on certain songs (like Mayfly!), the vocals remained subdued and almost comatose. They finally pick up a bit in the closing track, but too little too late. I'm sure this is one of those albums that I would've appreciated more when it was released, but 25 years later, there have been plenty of other artists and bands with more engaging work in the alternative/indie spheres. It's alright, and it certainly sounds nice, but I didn't get much out of it. Maybe I'm not feeling sinister enough. Favorite tracks: The Stars of Track and Field, If You're Feeling Sinister, Mayfly. Album cover: a woman who seems to be pondering Kafka's novel about bureaucratic pitfalls and hijinks. I like the picture, but I don't think I can deduce the significance. Does The Trial actually relate to the album? Who knows. And again, seeing a woman on the cover reminds me that this is a band of Stuarts, and we did not get any vocals from the eponymous Belle (who for legal purposes does not exist). 3/5

Another classic indie record, I'm sure it's bound to be misunderstood. Not nearly as twee as its reputation might sometimes suggest, the songwriting is robust and clever, the playing dynamic enough that the soft sections are as impactful as the loud parts. A record seemingly unconcerned with appearing cool or having a hit single, it's 10 great, confident songs - makes for a successful record.

I found this album so boring, and that boredom transformed into irritation. It’s hard to explain. I just couldn’t stand it. I realize that this is objectively pleasant music so feel free to disagree but this was one of my least faves 1/5 sorry jare ❤️

I got a lot of a lot of Nick Drake vibes from this one. I can also see how they influenced the diy indie scene as well. Very well written and unusual songs with a thoughtful arrangement and instrumentation

If this was anymore middle of the road there'd be white lines down the middle of the album. Having said that, the storytelling is decent and the melodies are occasionally quite catchy. The full orchestra adds something and makes it a little less boring. His voice is shit though and that has always annoyed me. Hipstery friends can never understand why I don't like these. Its because they are fundamentally dull. 2/5

I had so many friends who were into this back in the day. I didn't get it then and I don't get it now. Proto-emo, cutsie-tootsie, shoegaze bullshit. The only reason this got 2 stars is because the production quality is excellent.

Absolutely brilliant, and one of my favourite indie rock albums of the 1990's. Just a few minutes into the album's fantastic opener, 'The Stars of Track & Field', you know you're in for something special. The rich, engaging lyrics, the gentle acoustic guitar tracks, the surprising but perfectly placed trumpet solo, and the extended crescendo to close out - so good, and yet the album is only getting started. Every song on here is skillfully composed and so enjoyable.

Sounds a lot like the guy from your neighborhood who wrote a bunch of slightly dorky songs to impress the girl in the drama club. It’s not horrible, nothing great, but I’m sure she liked it.

So, so bland, empty. This is why nobody likes hipsters.

I really love this album. It has a warm, indie feel that creates a peaceful and whimsical atmosphere. The melodies are beautiful, reminiscent of Nick Drake, but with a surprisingly modern feeling. The vocal delivery is smooth and satisfying, the lyrics are fun and interesting, the musical performance is breath-taking. Before today, I haven't even heard of this band, but now I am definitely going to be going back to this album. These songs have such satisfying progression, it honestly gave me goosebumps. As far as new albums go, this is my favorite I've heard in a long time. Favorite track: If you're feeling sinister Least Favorite track: Mayfly

In 16 months, Belle and Sebastian released the equivalent of three full albums worth of material – Tigermilk, Sinister, and the three EPs that followed. How on earth can you do that and there barely be a bum note in any of them? As your first releases? This isn't "difficult second album" territory at all. I'm not sure what was in the water in Glasgow, but Stuart Murdoch was on a rich vein for a while there. And followed it up with another two albums and another EP within the next couple of years. B&S are probably my favourite band, and Sinister is probably their most consistent album, certainly until The Life Pursuit. Personally I prefer Tigermilk and have a soft sport for Girls in Peacetime Want to Dance, bt this doesn't stop this being a pretty darned good album with songs on it that I want to keep on coming back to. Lyrics as always full of whimsy: nice to see Rediffusion joining C&A and M&S, and quite what Hillary was up to I'm not entirely certain. I get why people may not like them, but for me they're full of joy. So, I didn't have to download this because it was already there. I listened four times on my commute – perfect length album here as well btw – and then stuck the vinyl copy on later in the day to dance around the living room to like no one was watching (they weren't). Obviously it's an album I love, so five stars is a given. But it's also massively influential and full of great stuff. It is astonishing quite how much really good stuff they produced in such a short time.

Mediocre at best

1/5 Couldn’t wait for this one to end. It’s like the worst Indy bookstore soundtrack ever.

Banger. Great production and progression, melodies and lyrics are super nice. The Scottish Neutral Milk Hotel but with Chronic fatigue syndrome.

This list makes me face my demons. B&S, how I’ve swerved around, fled and cowered from you without even knowing why. I suspect my fear was of what I perceived to be softness, which I grasped you rejoiced in. Weird isn’t it. That’s not a question. This is very good and I haven’t had enough time with it. There’s a play between folk, rock, dissonance and storytelling that feels both fresh and archetype-making. Soft? ‘Me and the Major’ is not soft: it’s pretty bleak! Same for most of the rest. Hard to judge greatness on a single playthrough, but that’s all I have. Going for a likely conservative 4. Now back to playing “Two Nuns and a a Pack Mule” really loud!

Convoluted, the contrived lyrics and monotonous delivery just don't come together—a lackluster performance.

Basic and boring. Didn’t even realise I had it on until it finished. 1/5

It was an era of second-hand sweaters and Buddy Holly eye wear, when irony was an accessory of every undergraduate poet/cinephile who wanted a Godardian existence of post-Marxist critique and guerrilla filmmaking with plaid skirted quietly rebellious girls with bangs and cardigans. It could have been the 1960s, or C-1986, or 1996 in Scotland when a bus-driver continued the low fidelity scruffy pop tradition of Television Personalities. Instead of stalking the reclusive Syd Barrett, Stuart Murdoch wrote about the bookish adolescent desire to kiss "for practice." Effete, twee, melancholic, catchy, clever in a, there is a vintage Kafka paperback on the album cover, quasi-bohemian art school elitist fashion. It is an essential album for Wes Anderson fans of nostalgic art school fever dreams of queer baiting poetry, sensitive aesthetes with wry affections, quirky teenage rebels who dream of horses and foxes in the snow.

Their second album is where the group hit their stride. Great lyrics and perfect instrumentation. Indie rock at it's best. Best Tracks: Seeing Other People; Me and the Major; Get Me Away From Here, I'm Dying;

Amazing! Never even heard of the artist before, this was such a nice surprise. Real nice to chill to.

Not the worst, but this singing style is a bit annoying after a while.

I think I hated this

I hate to say it but this album gave me sexual predator vibes Music: pleasant. Lyrics: 🚩 Sinister indeed 2 ⭐️

well, i finally found it… the cure to my insomnia. this album bored me to sleep. good night.

I farted on this LP

I've never listened to a Belle & Sebastian album before and this was exactly what I expected it to sound like. A couple of good songs but nothing to get the ears twitching. My big take away was wondering if the boy who done wrong again was the same boy who had the Arab strap.

Finally something really nice. The person who wrote this list knows nothing about music, toooooo American, for sure this person has no idea of music in other countries and regions. Only one culture vision, boring.

On sent vraiment toute l'influence de la pop de chambre sur cet album, notamment le moment ou Belle s'installe confortablement dans son lit, posant delicatement sa tête sur son oreiller pendant que Sebastian colle des posters de ses boys band favoris sur les murs.

Fine. All around fine. Rock my world, it did not.

Ok, not essential

Boring

This starts out pleasant enough and by the middle of the album, I'm exhausted. Not sure how to explain it — the melodies and dense lyrical content add up to brain fatigue (the opposite of relaxing). It's a lovely cup of tea, it's just not mine.

I've never been a fan of Belle and Sebastian and tbh I just find them twee and quite grating. This was no different

The soundtrack of my teens. Immaculate. Untouchable. Absolutely perfect ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Finally some good stuff. What a lovely collection of songs. Not too long not too short. Great fucking MELODIES. Listened to this on 2 separate drives today and it made me feel like i was in a movie

Belle & Sebastian is one of those bands where, especially wrt this album, the songwriting and delivery is so impenetrable that it's nearly impossible to hate. What I love about them the most is how emotionally ambiguous the songs are on a surface level listen. The melancholy & cheeriness are all the same. And really all emotion is more similar than different. Jealousy's tease has the same engrossing quality as the pleasantly warm sip the of cup of tea. The songwriting is obviously great, but there are so many great instrumental flourishes here, too. The vibraphone on Get Me Away From Here, I'm Dying,, auuughhh, the little synth bits at the end of the title track, lovely. The stylophone solo on Mayfly!!!! This listen makes me want to dive deep into their discography and see if this style holds up later on in their career or if they're a schtick band. At least The Boy with the Arab Strap. A Summer Wasting, was listening to that a lot Summer 2023.

Did not expect to like this anywhere near as much as I did. But with each passing song I found it more and more enjoyable, and by the end considered it a masterpiece. There’s no single stand out song on here, but something just clicked for me while listening to it

This is insane. I love indie music. I'm fucking Scottish. How have I never listened to Belle and Sebastian!? This absolutely slaps.

A masterwork

I've only heard their 90s albums but this one is definitely my favorite. So influential on a genre I don't enjoy which makes the fact that I do enjoy this one all the more impressive. Rating: 4.7

What a lovely bit of BS! Have listened to one of their songs before but never really delved any further. I will do now. Simpsons: Yes, and they got a shoutout in a Gilmore Girls episode I watched yesterday

Perhaps the quintessential album in their discography, Belle & Sebastian perfect their brand of witty, rather quirky aesthetic that still pierces the listener with rather delightful ease. A really thorough overview of who they are and how they worked from beginning to end, If You're Feeling Sinister not only sounds familiar but it feels new all the same; a world that makes you feel that you've already traversed whilst seeing new sights. A brilliant showcase.

One of those albums where every song has been my favorite at some point. I remember how magical it seemed hearing this quite early on before anyone really knew who they were, like stumbling upon a forgotten classic from another time. I don't think they made another record nearly as good, although they all have their moments. This one is perfect. Mark - tell me how wrong I am!

Love love love it. Simply beautiful

mellow and pretty

I have a lot to say about this album but am very tired. Belle and Sebastian are fucking wonderful and revisiting this one was a delight, I absolutely love the production on the songs, the piano and violin instrumentals on the tracks were wonderful. also his voice is five stars alone

I was right there in the thick of the Glasgow music scene in the mid 90s, grabbing pints at the 13th Note and watching this whole indie pop explosion happen firsthand, so listening to If You're Feeling Sinister is like catching a ghost in a bottle for me. It perfectly captures that specific, hyper-local era. It's a masterclass in intimate, indie pop, built on Stuart Murdoch's conversational, Nick Drake-esque vocals, lush chamber arrangements, think delicate pianos, violins, and even a stylophone, and incredibly clever storytelling. For those of us who were actually there, these brilliant melodies felt like our secret, wistful world was being pressed straight onto vinyl.

Rarely have songs with lyrics about horrible situations seemed so...pleasant.

There is a sincere beauty in these songs that is endearing - maybe it’s the lisp; perhaps not.

It’s not accurate, but Tigermilk always played as a test run for Sinister. Group of people assembled for a school project new to a studio, let alone writing music, it’s hard not to hear all of that in the production, songwriting, etc. Whereas Sinister is a fully conceived studio album by a group that knows what to do. Which is silly, they were still pretty much the same group, only months removed from Tigermilk. And yet, it’s such an assured album, patient, thoughtful, concise. Alas, I still run into Fox and start hitting skip. The saccharine, cloying, just this side of too precious wears on me a bunch by the time we get to Judy. But it’s still a good record! Shrugs.

Sounds like the Decemberists filtered through Nick Drake. For 1996 I think this album is impressive; I'd have guessed it was from a little later (that's probably due to its own influence in the early 2000s). Highlight pick: "Like Dylan in the Movies."

I know this is the most basic of 90s indie alternative but this stuff is fire, sue me.

I studied English literature at a British university in the late 1990s – they might as well have handed out Belle & Sebastian CDs with our degree certificates. Luckily, I'm ok with being a twee indie cliche.

Pleasant tunes on a sunny day.

I liked it.

This was one of the first bands my younger brother introduced me to when he started developing his own musical taste. Suddenly, the kid who barely cared about anything beyond mainstream hits became my gateway to twee pop and indie gems. I was impressed, but I'll admit, slightly threatened by this new contender in the household. Up until recently, I thought I "had" the album on MP3, but with hindsight, I realize the tracklisting was all wrong, with random songs from their debut and later releases mixed in—probably mis-tagged. Still, Belle and Sebastian’s sound stood out: soft, jangly guitars, whispered vocals, and lush, melancholic arrangements. Their music felt intimate, like overhearing someone’s secret thoughts. Tracks like “The Stars of Track and Field,” “Like Dylan in the Movies,” and “Get Me Away from Here, I’m Dying” stand out for their bittersweet storytelling and understated instrumentation. While the album may seem subdued at first, it's full of unexpected chord changes and subtle instrumental touches that keep you hooked. Stuart Murdoch's knack for taking melodies in surprising directions is a masterclass in restraint and creativity. The title track, “If You’re Feeling Sinister,” is a great example, sounding especially haunting with its reflections on faith and doubt. Released in the mid-90s, at a time when guitar music was dominated by grunge and Britpop, this album feels like an anomaly. Yet, its quiet brilliance laid the groundwork for future indie giants like Death Cab for Cutie, Sufjan Stevens, and The Decemberists. Did/Do I own this release? I thought I "owned" it on MP3. Does this release belong on the list? Unpretentious and sweet, yet massively influential. It deserves its spot. Would this release make my personal list? It's a great shout, but I'd be tempted to pick the follow-up The Boy With the Arab Strap instead. Will I be listening to it again? Of course.

Shit, that was some good shit.

I enjoyed this album a lot more than I anticipated. Going off album cover alone, it looks like some whiny brit pop shit we’ve heard too many times at this point. What we actually get is a fun and semi-original album that’s reasonably unique. I have no great praises for this thing, but I have no complaints either. It had emotion and heart to it, so that’s worth something. 4/5

Fantastic showing, I'd never even heard of them and really enjoyed the album

I really liked Tigermilk and I really like this record, but I have the feeling that the farther I go in their discography, I might start getting bored. Not because I think the music will be bad, just that I can see them settling into their sound and…eventually the law of diminishing returns will kick in, you know what I mean? As it stands, though, I’m more than content to keep playing this record and Tigermilk over and over. They are *great* records.

Gentle is the word that comes to mind. It was a pleasant listen though it fell into background music as the album went on. I would have loved this at an earlier point in life, not my pick these days but still good overall. I feel like Ben Gibbard loves this band.

The funny thing about digging into B&S at this point in life is the songs kind of lose the element of surprise, because it sounds similar to a ton of more modern bands that I've been listening to for a decade (Decemberists, Shins, Death Cab, etc). But I have to remind myself that these groups built their sound off of the blueprint B&S laid out well before. The songs here are fantastic: some of the tightest songwriting and performance are consistent throughout the entire record. Tracks will feature little details and flourishes that keep things lively, like the clips of children playing in the title track or the light keyboards and sax in the following track "Mayfly." It's an album that sounds as effortless as a breeze, as if they came into being as they were being performed.

It's lovely. I appreciate the unfettered authenticity and wistfulness. The melodramatic "Get Me Away From Here I'm Dying" is a song that will always have a special place in my heart.

A very gentle indie classic

Un très joli album qui raconte l'histoire de Sébastien, un enfant solitaire et d'un chien sauvage. Il l'apprivoise et lui donne le nom Belle. Ensemble, ils essaient de déjouer un plan nazi pour capturer des résistants français.

Imagine my surprise when I learned Belle & Sebastian was not a duo consisting of Belle and Sebastian. Great album. Really reminiscent of that early indie sound like Neutral Milk Hotel (but less weird). Really solid album. Saved this one for a rainy day and happy I did.

I enjoyed this one alright. Late 90's kinda chill acoustic hipstery sound.

This one didn't grab me

This couldn’t end soon enough.

Boring AND cant sing? Holy mediocre 1.3

Hmmm. How to describe this album. I can’t say that it offended me, but get me away, I’m dying.

This guy's voice has a very punchable face. Seeing Other People is good enough theme and lyrics to overcome, but rest was meh to bad

I guess I’m a bad 90s hipster but I never could do it.

I didn't know music could sound vegetarian before I listened to this. How on earth is this essential listening? It's like someone took the minor chords and cool guitar works out of the smiths and left you with the soundtrack to eating hummus and carrot sticks in the park at sunset. It's so polite and I can't tell where one song ends and the other begins. I'm no fan of autotune but f++k me this album needs some.

Such a beautiful album. Love how Stars Of Track And Field builds from almost nothing. There is never a bad time to listen to this album, surely their strongest.

Really awesome

LES GOOOOOOOOOOO. killing myself postponed!!!!!!!!!!!!! it's good. 4.6-5. i don't wanna hear about your gay little white boys™️, ESPECIALLY christian hundred-thousandaire will toledo. they BEEN mogged.

Great tunes

I think an argument could be made that the title track is one of the best songs ever written. Same for Get Me Away From Here, I’m Dying. I love this album so much.

I played this one to death when it first came out. Back when $10 was an expensive show, I spent almost twice that to see them for their first US tour supporting this album. I was supposed to fly across the country to see them a few years later until 9/11 happened. The first 3 albums and early EPs are so ingrained in me. I don't listen to them much anymore but when I do it always takes me back

Much to my surprise, I've listened to Belle and Sebastian's entire discography, but I don't remember it at all. Moreover, judging by last.fm, I listened to them before their festival performance I attended back in 2018, which I also don't remember! Given these memory gaps, it's logical to assume the band wasn't particularly interesting to me. So, today I listened to their second album with a clean slate, and it was incredible. It's a virtually entirely acoustic record, the upbeat instrumentals of which almost always contrast with melancholic, sometimes even cynical, lyrics about ordinary people and their shortcomings. I suppose something similar would have happened if you mixed The Kinks and The Smiths — two seemingly different eras, but that's precisely why the album still sounds fresh. It's a bit introverted and won't appeal to everyone, but for me, it reinvented the band.

Yes, a bit twee, fey almost but even so it's a stunning piece of work. My only regret regarding Belle & Sebastian is that I waited until The Boy With Arab Strap to buy their first few albums.

girls wear the sad smile that knows that life has already given all it has to give

I’m at a 4.5 that I’ll bump up to a 5. I think someone’s enjoyment of this album, for the most part, will come in the desire to understand its lyrics. For people who aren’t big on the lyrical side of things, this album will probably pass over the ears with some solid, occasionally lispy delivery & some traditional mid-90s post-grunge instrumentation behind it, with slight elements of shoegaze & a loose ‘lo-fi ska’ feel behind it. Enjoyable for its 41 minutes, but not as satisfying as it could be on just those parts of the album alone. That’s where the lyricism really enhances this album. I’ll be the first person to advocate for lyrics a lot of the time, especially when there’s effort put into them, but even I can admit this album in particular is a little too lyrically-driven. However, I do think they’re rewarding as hell if you can pick up on what they’re going for. It’s a little flowery at points, but they do try to make the meanings as clear as they can without explicitly spelling it all out. Whether it’s an inability to be sexually comfortable with one’s self, a half-closeted / half-open gay relationship, a defiant spirit towards an older generation, the pick-me vibes of a girl walking through the woods, a plea to get out of a lonely slump, a hopeless romantic finding their victories in literature, the insidious nature of religion as it relates to suicide, someone waiting for an ex to be single again for a second chance, the desire for something more intimate than a surface-level love, or sex in one’s dreams being better than the real thing, this album’s ability to find & capture elements that navigate the complexities of the teenage years, at least as written by a chronically fatigued track runner, feels remarkable. That’s where the lyricism elevates this album – the pictures painted build up really well from verse to verse, & the choruses feel like flipping a page just to paint the next part of the story. Is it a little too “YA novel”-coded? I mean, probably, but as with the last album, I’m just kind of a sucker for these things when they’re done well. So, with all that praise, why a 4.5 bumped up to a 5 and not a flat 5 or something higher? Again, it’s just because it’s a little too lyrically driven to cover up some occasionally flatter instrumentals; that, and I don’t know if it’s necessarily structured super well as an actual album experience. The push & pull of these tracks from a musical standpoint isn’t quite as dynamic as their lyrics are, so there is a slight sense of homogenization that underlines some back-to-back tracks on this album. That said, it’s an incredibly easy bump up to a 5 for me, just because I fuck with everything this album is going for. Stuart Murdoch’s one hell of a songwriter, and if “Tigermilk” is supposed to be even better than this, I can’t wait until we get it. I’m very impressed, given that this is by a band I hadn’t heard of until today, and for me, it’s a bump up to a strong 5.

Really liked it!

So pleasant, and so intimate sounding on the earbuds

Fantastic. Twee pop that stands the test of time; the earnest whimsy feels very of this moment now in 2026

(7/7) I've been a fan of these guys since I Shazamed "Get Me Away from Here, I'm Dying" at a hair salon in Nashville 10 years ago

In love with this

Very melodic Folky indie pop representative 60s legends like Donovan and Nick Drake. Man this band can really write a hook. On any instrument, but especially vocals. Every single song has some brilliant melody that could get stuck in my head for a day. The music is gentle but not saccharine or dull, still maintaining dynamics, energy, and surprising variety of instruments and orchestral additions into quality arrangements. And it’s a perfect complement to Murdoch’s vocal and lyrical style I’ve known this band/album and liked it well enough but it never really stuck / expected a 3 or maybe a 4…today it really landed and earned itself a 5

When people think about Twee, they think about this album. Is there any other thing to say?

Cute!

Played this shit three times

One of the best alternative albums of the 90's. Happy music.

Really enjoyed this, and kept revisiting playthroughs frequently. Nice smooth indie pop, clear vocals, nice instrumentals, and seemingly a decent amount of underlying complexity that keeps me coming back. Another that I wouldn’t have expected but gets full marks

A dorm room classic.

I really liked this album. It's super pretentious in a way that I seem to find irresistible.

A record that could only be made by society’s most endearing of characters.

My copy of "Boy with the Arab Strap" got worn out in the late 90s. If I had had a copy of "...Sinister" it would have the same wear marks.

Chamber pop, chamber folk, indie rock, indie pop, twee pop.