More about: Belle And Sebastian

Despite an almost three decade-long career, Belle and Sebastian have always enjoyed – and perhaps even consciously crafted – an underdoggish, cult popularity, in a way Scottish bands often seem to. (Mogwai, Teenage Fanclub, and The Vaselines all come to mind in the same vein.) I suspect, cynically, that it helps with merch, vinyl, and ticket sales.

That’s not to say it’s easy to keep such a status going though. How do you maintain enough continuity that you keep the oldheads on side, who have been following since they heard ‘The Boy with the Arab Stap’ on Teachers in 2001, while changing the tune enough to keep people interested? Listening to Late Developers in 2023, it seems the answer is simple but irritating: be good.

There is naturally a bit more to it than that. Belle and Sebastian have an instantly recognisable pop sensibility, yet balance it out by incorporating other flavours. Late Developers’s best numbers, like ‘Give A Little Time’ and ‘When You’re Not With Me’, are bangers with catchy choruses and popping basslines: perfect for driving down mountain roads in a sun kissed convertible. The influence of disco and Motown is manifest on these tracks, where the music is propelled by a tight rhythm section, but doesn’t lose the trademark indie pop sound. Think back to the iconic groove on ‘The Young Folks’ from the old Homebase adverts.

"Euphoric chorus with chanting ‘la-da-ba-dees’? Check. Sincere in a way an English artist could never? Check."

On Late Developers’s fifth track, ‘So In The Moment’, the band whizz through with a punk energy unfound anywhere else on the album, but catch their breath on ‘The Evening Star’, which follows, another one of the album’s highlights. It has all the melodic rigour of some of the best soul ballads, married with the brilliant country tackiness of the Gavin & Stacey cast line dancing to Bryn and Ness’s rendition of ‘Islands In the Stream’. It even comes with a fat horn section!

Another favourite is ‘I Don’t Know What You See In Me’, which might be the most Scottish song on the LP. Epic synths? Check. Euphoric chorus with chanting ‘la-da-ba-dees’? Check. Sincere in a way an English artist could never? Check. Now imagine it was co-produced by Cascada and the Proclaimers – the y2k hyperpop kids are quaking in their boots.

I wouldn’t recommend this album, however, if you want to hear something ground breaking. (Then again, is that why anyone has ever listened to Belle and Sebastian?) Late Developers is catchy, melodic, and varied; revolutionary it is not. The album is nested within skippable openers and closers: the kind of folk-y ‘Juliet Naked’ is bare and lacklustre, while title-track ‘Late Developers’ is just a bit too corny. ‘Will I Tell You A Secret’, a ballad headed by an acoustic guitar and a harpsichord, is like most chamber pop songs – that is, you either love it or you find it infuriating.

With the music industry falling ever further to its knees, chasing safe trends for a quick buck is becoming more and more attractive for artists and labels. Belle and Sebastian nod (perhaps unintentionally) to some of these trends, but ultimately appeal to the listener with a timeless knack for good songwriting and comfort in being a bit naff. It remains to be seen whether Late Developers will make my year-end list, but it is 100% the surprise album for those January, cost-of-living crisis, ‘Hello 2023!’ blues we all – or I, at least – needed.

Late Developers is out Friday 13th January

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More about: Belle And Sebastian