Belle & Sebastian - 'The Third Eye Centre'

By Logan Lockner

Belle & SebastianThe Third Eye CentreMatador

Does the new Belle and Sebastian album represent a change in direction for the Glaswegian darlings, arguably the most charming — or, to some listeners’ callous ears, obnoxious and predictable — champions of British melancholia since Morrissey and Marr? Is it likely that Stuart Murdoch and company have managed to convert skeptics to their book club for art school dropouts? Would a single Belle and Sebastian fan want either of these previous inquiries to be answered in the affirmative?Assuredly the response to all three of these questions is a resounding no. For all their remixing and rarity, the tracks on The Third Eye Centre undeniably bear the trademark gestures of Belle and Sebastian.“Suicide Girl,” originally featured as a bonus track on the band’s most recent studio album, Belle and Sebastian Write About Love, jauntily recounts a melancholy case unrequited love. “Love on the March” channels baroque pop by way of bossa nova, and Richard X’s remix of “I Didn’t See It Coming” pays more explicit tribute than usual to Belle and Sebastian’s New Order-ish new wave influences.[soundcloud url="https://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/41460228" params="color=ff6600&auto_play=false&show_artwork=true" width="100%" height="166" iframe="true" /]