グラスゴーの至宝からサプライズな贈り物!
ベルセバ最新アルバム緊急リリース!

不動の安定した人気で世界中のネオアコ～インディ・ファンを魅了し続けるグラスゴーの至宝ベル・アンド・セバスチャンが2021年にリリースした通算10作目『A Bit of Previous』に続く最新アルバム『Late Developers』をサプライズ・リリース!
若きソングライターであるピート・ファーガソンとともに共同作曲された80年代マナーが煌めく先行シングル「I Don't Know What You See In Me」を筆頭に、スティーヴィー・ジャクソンの史上最高の曲のひとつとなるであろう息もつかせぬサイケデリック・ポップ「So In The Moment」、バンド結成前夜から存在した楽曲をカメラ・オブスキュラのトレイシーアン・キャンベルとともに30年越しに完成させた「When The Cynics Stare Back From The Wall」、バンドのスミス愛が炸裂した「When We Were Very Young」など安心と驚きを与えてくれるベルセバらしい全11曲を収録。

発売・販売元 提供資料 （2023/01/10）

The long stretches between albums that had become standard for indie pop heroes Belle and Sebastian made their 11th studio LP, Late Developers, even more of a surprise, as it was released without much lead-up just eight months after 2022s A Bit of Previous. Recorded during the same self-produced sessions, Late Developers feels like a companion piece to its predecessor, reaching just as inspired heights and continuing the bands inspection of aging and existential dread that always comes wrapped in soft, reassuring melodies. These songs also flit playfully between styles and delivery, turning in more of the bands Motown-fixated sunshine soul on tracks like the swaying "The Evening Star" or "Give a Little Time," which finds them sneaking in another of their long-term musical fascinations with some very subtle Thin Lizzy-style lead guitar harmonies. There are also moments of towering, drumless folk-rock on album opener "Juliet Naked," spirited power pop with hints of country lap-steel guitar and fiddle on the Stevie Jackson-penned romper "So in the Moment," and multiple articulations of synth pop on a solid percentage of the album. The synth pop tunes take the form of the cold funk of "When We Were Very Young," the slick and danceable "When Youre Not with Me," and no-holds-bared synthesizer-driven pop hooks throughout "I Dont Know What You See in Me," the first Belle and Sebastian song co-written with help from someone outside of the band, Wuh Ohs Pete Ferguson. Much like the meeting of vulnerable feelings and unfettered songwriting experimenting made A Bit of Previous feel like the band were still in the process of evolving, moments like "I Dont Know What You See in Me" (which almost sounds like a tune Carly Rae Jepsen could do a great cover of) suggest Belle and Sebastian are still interested in expanding their creative range. All this growth will undoubtedly be a little bit too much evolving for fans secretly wishing the group would return to the state that they were in during their Tigermilk or If Youre Feeling Sinister days. The inclusion of the sadly pristine "When the Cynics Stare Back from the Wall" will scratch that particular itch. The song was written by Stuart Murdoch in 1994 just before the band began, and this 2020s version includes beautiful guest vocals from Camera Obscuras Tracyanne Campbell. Late Developers is a sturdy collection on its own, but it takes on new depth when paired with A Bit of Previous. Absorbed as pieces of a connected statement, the two albums show Belle and Sebastian deep into their career but still in a state of artistic flourishing. Even the inclusion of an older tune somehow doesnt feel like theyre content to stay cycling through past ideas. If anything it serves as a stark example of just how far theyve come since those timid, mawkish early days, and the rest of the songs give a glimpse of how far they might yet go. ~ Fred Thomas

Rovi