Push Barman to Open Old Wounds
In many ways this collection, which compiles each of the band's out of print EPs from 1997-2001, is all the "greatest hits" you'll need by the Scottish combo. It's easy to take Belle and Sebastian for granted these days--they don't sound as good as they used to, and certainly it’s difficult to imagine them ever becoming as culturally/musically relevant as they were once upon a precious, fey little time. But this collection brings the listener back to a time when it was crucially important to find their import EPs, when no one else in the world seemed to be making indie-pop that was so full of sincerity and irony at the same time, nor as gorgeously crammed with orchestral elements and naughty-smart lyrics. "The State I Am In" has never sounded better, while "Lazy Line Painter Jane," which expanded their sound to include C&W-ish; elements, is clearly one of the band’s best tunes ever (and perhaps a more interesting direction than the vaguely soulful one they took later on). The almost-rolliciking, smartypants "Le Pastie De La Bourgeoise" is brutal and elegant.–Mike McGonigal