If You're Feeling Sinister

Sounds like acoustic Lou Reed. Fair.

Indie pop perfection. The songwriting is tender, funny, character-driven, and so unique. There’s a bit of a time capsule value to it, as nothing else really captures that twee era so well. It’s the album that launched thousands of imitators, and none came close to the real thing.

i really like them

Belle and Sebastian build on the sound of the already great Tigermilk here, creating something even more impressive. The guitars are a bit crisper, the melodies a little poppier, and the ennui much stronger. Every song here is tender, and most of them somber, resulting in a very relatable album that feels a bit like a big hug. There are tales of relationships that may be over, searching for God to have something to do, generational barriers, and just being plain old bored and dissatisfied. But it's all very warm and loving - there's irony and sarcasm here, but it never feels inauthentic or dismissive. Most of this is driven by acoustic guitar, so when the harmonica solo on "Me and the Major" or the horn climax on "Mayfly" break out they really hit. Just a nice little pop album with clever lyrics that never tries to do too much.

Seems to have inspired a bunch of mid indie from the 2000s, chill but nothing special

Great jangle-pop from the 1990s. I am undecided if the off-key singing adds or detracts from very strong melodies. Wins the prize for the most eclectic song titles.

I do not understand the hype at all around this one. Songs felt very repetitive and poorly produced, with the same two chords and bland melodies played on repeat. Could not stand the lead singers voice, and the lyricism does not read as ironic nor wry to me, more than just devoid of anything interesting to say. Not offensively bad, but clearly not for me. 3/10.

Love early B&S, though at the time the rabid nature of their fans was a huge turnoff - I foolishly shunned a couple of gigs I could easily have attended in the late 90s/early 00s. This is a great collection of tunes from when B&S hadn't worn out the shtick of songs about kids in school. Not quite as lightning-in-a-bottle as Tigermilk, or poptastic as Dear Catastrophe Waitress, but very remarkable and of its time. More of a 4.5, but rounding up because this is exactly the kind of album that has loads of US contributors to this project complaining about British music.

Fucking grueling. Could be used as a form of cruel and unusual punishment at Guantanamo. Wes Anderson music. Get out of my FACE.

nothing burger

second album by scottish pop band belle & sebastian, but their first album to have much more of a wider reach; their debut released only a few months earlier on limited-quantity vinyl. the band only took a tiny bit more time to record this album compared to the last, and their label encouraged them to not release any singles or participate in promotional events. the album didn't make it on mainstream charts, but listeners and contemporary reviewers were rather quick to give it praise for its chambery folky method of songwriting. i think that a lot of these songs are absolutely lovely. reviewers compare these songs to the works of nick drake, and there's a similar energy here... melodious, really serene pop music that could relax a lot of people if they were a little stressed... it certainly relaxed me when i turned it on. very creative melody lines. i feel like not everyone will like the singing, especially as the album continues, but i'm a sucker for this sort of thing... it's sweet, it's syrupy, it's really therapeutic and i'm very happy i took time out of my day to listen to it.

The Shins too aggro for you? Someone asked you what “twee” means? Need to simultaneously reduce your heart rate and yet feel restless? This is the perfect album for you.

Limp

Despite knowing B&S sat adjacent to my musical tastes, I'd never really got into them. First time listening to this album, and it was pretty good, a nice listen if not spectacular. Maybe time for a slight reappraisal of the band

a lot of similar song structures just layering and repeating. i couldn't buy into it

No me parece música desagradable, es considerada de culto. Yo no encuentro evolución musical en sus canciones.

Weak n lame

Really enjoyed this! It sounds like a reverse nick drake where it has a timeless sound that I thought it sounded like it from the late 60s, where as nick drake is from late 60s but sounds like from the mid 90s. very cool!

Did not hate it. Which is a high compliment.

Could never get into this in high school even with pitchfork trying to ram it down my throat. I'm finally at an old enough boring age where I like it. It sounds like Nico from Velvet Underground doing vocals for "A rose for Emily" by the Zombies. good stuff

I really liked this. Never listened to them before but it's very enjoyable and the lyrics make me think

I hadn't listened to this album in forever! It was nice and nostalgic and just as I remembered

Does everyone have the same experience with Belle and Sebastian? A band that you always knew about but never actually really listened to? Well now I’ve listened and it was lovely. Would listen again.

It's like if that song from Juno learned to play drums and harmonica. It's not surprising or challenging at all, but it was very nice to listen to.

Super vanilla, every song sounds like it's a montage in a shitty rom com

I've tried listening to Belle and Sebastian and I just can't. It bores me to death. 2.5/5

Nice. Don’t feel anything special but enjoyable record, 3.

Very pleasant and heartfelt, wistful staring out the train window while thinking about a love music

The original Scottish indie darlings with a charming original piece of beauty.

Not a big fan of his voice, but some of these are a great groove. I would've honestly guessed that this album was from the 70's instead of 98. It was fine, enjoyable but not that special. Fave Songs: Me and the Major

and maybe I am... feeling a little sinister...

Anyone else smell patchouli?

very meh

4.1 thouroughly enjoyed. The slow ones kind drag

I've heard of Belle & Sebastian, but I don't know any of their songs. This was fine. It was very pleasant, but nothing stood out. I wouldn't need to hear it again.

Hmmm. Another band that my ex loved and I thought was alright. This album was ok. Missing some of my more favorite songs by them

Ok

Listening to this album is Kafkaesque.

When this was new, I really hated it. Not sure why, probably just adolescent homophobia. It's reassuring to think that I've grown as a person since then.

Niente di speciale.

So good. Not a bad song. Amazing lyrics and excellent songwriting.

My favourite Belle and Sebastian album. Lovely and timeless. Pure joy. No notes.

wonderful album

Best Track - "Get Me Away From Here, I'm Dying"

Love their sound. Very enjoyable album.

Fair play to these softies for surviving 1990s Glasgow.

It's fine. Doesn't resonate with me. 2.5/5. Raising to 3.

Twee and slight, but in the best way. Somehow Belle and Sebastian turn twinkly pop and a UK preciousness into something that catches your ear and your heart. There’s more here, it says. High 3 on first listen

Every song exudes originality and emotion. Brilliantly and simply played and also not over produced. So many of these songs are absolutely brilliant. Songs change and weave with space to breath. Brilliant.

This is not it for me. I did not enjoy this album.

Enjoyed. Peaceful folklike

halfslachtig album... iets te veel geneuzel voor mij maar er staan enkele goeie songs op...

Easy and fun, good painting

This is twee pop...very little that can be described as twee is good. Some Wes Anderson movies might be the exception? I kind of like this, a pleasant pop folk duo. Subtle Don't Look Back reference. Mayfly is the best song so far. There's nothing about this album to get me really excited either way. Quickly superseded by Judy and the Dream of Horses as a strong closer.

Day 419 Highlights Me and the major The boy done wrong again

aburrido

I just don’t get it. I get a lot of people enjoy this but I just don’t think it’s for me. It’s definitely not the worst album Iv heard but I just don’t think the songs are that good

ok not my fav

This is pretty dreadful. Honestly, it's pretty clear that these folks listen to a lot of the cure and REM, I just don't understand why this is one of the 1001 albums I need to listen to before I die. It's not even good emo.

consistently lovely and moody

Hated this one

day 8 of not rolling Aja by Steely Dan Went in thinking I was going in blind, and then I heard a few songs and was like "oh I've heard this in [insert TV show/movie/etc.]" so that was kind of interesting. I'm sort of a fan of the shitty vocals and fun instrumentation of this era (and some similar stuff in the early 2000s). Like I doubt we get Cold War Kids or Kimya Dawson without artists like these telling the world it's okay to sound shitty and that it's... maybe part of the charm? i don't actually know. my favorite part of this album is actually the key words in the reviews. truly the duality of man: "boring" is two words away from "interesting"; "chill" and "fun" are close together as well

high school me would've eaten this up and i think current me respects that and still will eat this up.

I quite like Belle, but Sebastian didn't strike my fancy.

I think I could beat everyone involved in the recording of this album in a fight. not all at once or anything. Because I think this band has like 10 members. But even if it was all at once, I think I’d put up a pretty darn good fight.

Super influential stuff, I haven’t quite acquired the taste for this band but I appreciate what they’re doing here

Gražu, bet ne mano stilius.

Wow. This sounds like ..... (fill in any band from the previous several decades). It sounds as if these people looked for what makes a song popular and then created this. An x factor indie band.... and then they made their own compositions after the 'cover versions'. I really dislike this.

Kind of lo fi, nothing really clicked/inspired for me

Instant 5 stars. Love this album more than words could ever say. Top bops: Stars of track and field Like Dylan in the movies The Fox in the snow Get me away from here, I’m dying If you’re feeling sinister The boy done wrong again Judy and the dream of horses

5 stars of track and field you are....beautiful people. I wish I could be in the mixing room on a couple of tracks to just slide those vocals up a very small amount during the verses. I'd ride that fader so the choruses wouldn't fall into any possible anthemic interpretation (except for the ones that Stuart wants). I had a friend, two years older, who had survived cancer as a teen and just seemed to know things™ — coincidentally he had the best taste in music of anyone I'd ever met. He lived within walking distance, not that we did (too hilly, too rainy), and often was a surrogate sibling. It was this Belle and Sebastian record he slid my way as an introduction. I mentioned this in my Tigermilk review but I wasn't ready to really hear it. Too Twee! Too delicate! Not muscular and angular enough my post-hardcore, noise rock indulging self might exclaim. I couldn't hold on to a beautiful melancholy moment. Wasn't ready to sit with any of this literary, observant, empathetic storytelling. My friend would live another 20 years or so before finally passing of cancer and I've changed enough to watch a fox in the snow and take in the moment. Quietly defiant it endures as testimony. If You're Feeling Sinister is an album you may not be ready to hear but when you are it'll be there for you.

Earlier this year I caught a performance of If You're Feeling Sinister as part of a Belle and Sebastian anniversary tour. I wanted to convince my friends to listen to on Instagram, so I wrote "I know it sounds hard to believe, but a horny Scottish recluse obsessed with 60s pop music and running wrote a front to back perfect pop record." What else is there to add now?

Essential album for me, surprised I forgot to put it on my top 100 when we did that exercise. I get that in some ways it embodies the 2000s indie aesthetic so fully that it almost parodies itself. But I'm still into that aesthetic. I like cryptic stories and melodic departures that don't quite add up to a concept yet still have an undeniable through line. To me the through line is feeling invisible and unknown even in the midst of a group of people, a web of relationships. There is so much warmth and familiarity in the music but also a hollowness at the heart of it that I think can only be there on purpose. "Seeing other people or at least that's what we say we are doing" conveys that in several ways. Not sure this review is coherent at all.

Okay

Heard it before. Get Me Away from Here, I'm Dying is a sweet song but the main guy's vocals are absolutely grating if you listen to more than 2 songs in a row 2/5

es el pimpollo mas salvador que haya puesto fin a tu tortura, tomare sus alas como mias, entrenare hasta salvar mi vida, quiero que un barco me tome de la mano, que haga las paces con mi capitan, que me beba como agua, que me enseñe a naufragar, el mas lindo pimpollo que te salvo, en su torpeza carmesi de cotillon

I just don't get these guys. Twee indie pop that does nothing for me I'm afraid.

Its a 6/5 really.

Pretty decent / inoffensive … even keeled but didn’t particularly stand out 3

not my thing

My second favorite band of all time; I'm intimately familiar with this record. I think it's generally considered their best work, and it has some of my favorite songs by them, but I like a few other albums better (Boy With the Arab Strap and Fold Your Hands Child appeal more to me, personally). But I've had a long time to sit with their discography. The songwriting and especially the melodies are what define B&S for me, and this album has some truly delicious melodies. Get Me Away From Here I'm Dying is incredible; a perfect pop song. Other favorites are Seeing Other People, Fox in the Snow, Mayfly, and Judy and the Dream of Horses. No skips on the album and it functions really well as a whole.

I really love this album, another of them I’ve listened to hundreds of times but hadnt for a while so it felt fresh again. Dear Catastrophe Waitress just edges it slightly, but it’s such an easy 5 for me. Me and the Major, Get Me Away From Here, Dylan in the Movies, If Youre Feeling Sinister, all favourites of mine. Great record

A lot better than tiger milk, musically a lot more accomplished. Shades of blur on some tracks though it's a lot more DIY twee indie than that. Think it was good enough that I could stomach some of the silly lyrics. Dylan in the movies was a standout I think, and I really liked the sound of fox in the snow. A bit too DIY wet blanket to be a 5 for me, would want a bit more edge or a bit more complexity, but really good.

Lots to like here - quirky, folksy, pure indie. Great run from Me and the Major, Like Dylan in the Movies, The Fox in the Snow, and Get Me Away From Here, I'm Dying. Sufjan Stevens-esque. When the first song came back on again, The Stars of Track and Field, I have to admit I got a bit bored.

Thought this was pretty brilliant. Much better than the previous album of theirs we had for me. I was definitely played this by my dad when I was younger, distinctly remember hearing stars of track and field in the car The second track is really reminiscent of the shins. A few others reminded me of other bands, maybe death cab or postal service.... Bet they liked this. Listened to this 3 times today, and really enjoyed it. Makes me wonder why I didn't click with the last one. Might have to go back. 4.5 but it's getting a 5

I like this one better than their other record on this list. The vocals are still a little tough for me to get into but the arrangements are elegant and pretty. It’s weird because I like Nick Drake, but in this context the lispy vocals just really take me out of it.

Good.

Really enjoyed this, always been a fan of indie pop and this is no exception.

Not my music

Big fan of this one

I'm never angry positioning to Belle& Sebastian. Great songwriting, beautiful composition, damn good music.

giving this one a five because its one I want to revisit but not because its as much of a 5 star as the other ones. drink: peanut butter chocolate smoothie with whipped cream not yet whipped to perfection. rating: 8.02/10

Not my thing. But I will give it three stars based on the scene in the movie "High Fidelity" where Jack Black interrupts a Belle & Sebastian song in favor of "Walking On Sunshine."

In my experiment to listen to more music this has been the first album I chose to listen to again the very same day, good vocals, original songs, distinct sound, an easy album to sit and chill to

Koselig bakgrunnsstøy.

it didn't make me curios enough to listen to it again or save it. Not a bad one, I can't say I had a bad time

i love this album. it feels so wistful but never veers into corny. its cohesion and distinct sound make it meditative, but its not stagnant; different songs jump out at me each time around (this time it was “Fox in the Snow”). Fav tracks: Get Me Away from Here, I’m Dying; The Fox in the Snow; Judy and the Dream of Horses

⭐️Like Dylan in the Movies

Obvious Nick Drake comparisons aside, this also felt like Simon and Garfunkel for the nineties kids. The songs are all very pleasant. The album opens with "The Stars Of Track And Field", which starts off with just vocalist Stuart Murdoch and an acoustic guitar before more instruments get added to create a very full sounding band. While they could run the risk of coming off as too soft and lacking any edge, they are so lushly layered that I can't bring myself to dislike any of them. When I'm next in the mood for some more relaxed music, I'll definitely consider checking out more Belle And Sebastian.

I’ve loved Belle & Sebastian from hearing ‘It could’ve been a brilliant career’ on the radio (possibly mark and lard) and ‘The boy with arab strap’ as the theme from ‘Teachers’. Whilst not as strong as either TBWTAS or Tigermilk all the key ingredients are hear. The floaty dreamy music combined with their wonderful knack for storytelling.