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Belle & Sebastian Double Live Album

 

 

On December 11, Matador Records will release Belle and Sebastian’s What to Look for in Summer, a live double album gathering choice selections from the band’s 2019 world tour, including last summer’s epic “Boaty Weekender” cruise. Now, the band release a new video with the audio of the live rendition of their classic song 'The Boy With The Arab Strap', in a special version featuring the band in their respective Glasgow locations.

 

All live records are a time capsule to some extent, but this is perhaps a bit more evocative than originally planned. “We'd been badgered by our fan base to put out recordings of the shows,” frontman Stuart Murdoch teases. So they began multi-tracking their 2019 tour, including all three sets from the “Boaty Weekender” festival, which took place on a cruise ship. Which of those things feels more like an out-of-reach fantasy right now, simply seeing some live music, a festival, or getting on a cruise ship?

 

Whatever your answer, What To Look For In Summer takes you there. With COVID-19 cancelling not only 2020 live shows, but Belle and Sebastian’s plans to make a new record in Los Angeles, what started out as a between-albums, “for-the-heads” release wound up getting a bit more care and attention. “It was something to focus on,” says Stevie Jackson. “That was very, very nice.” “It was quite nice to be doing that when we couldn't even see each other,” echoes Sarah Martin.

 

“For a while, the working title of the record was Live and Meticulous,” Murdoch says. “The record company really wanted it to be called Live and Meticulous. But I don't like derivative things really.” Neither a retrospective nor a back-door greatest-hits, What To Look For In Summer is the sound of a band that’s always moving forward, a picture of Belle and Sebastian in 2019 that gives equal weight to early days and recent years, with a track selection Murdoch says was almost random.

 

 

What To Look For In Summer Track List

 

1. The Song of The Clyde £ >

 

2. Dirty Dream Number Two *

 

3. Step Into My Office, Baby *

 

4. We Were Beautiful +

 

5. Seeing Other People %

 

6. If She Wants Me @

 

7. Beyond The Sunrise &

 

8. Wrapped Up In Books +

 

9. Little Lou, Ugly Jack, Prophet John $

 

10. Nice Day For A Sulk (digital only) #

 

11. I Can See Your Future *

 

12. Funny Little Frog ^

 

13. The Fox In The Snow+

 

14. If You’re Feeling Sinister*

 

15. My Wandering Days Are Over*

 

16. The Wrong Girl #

 

17. Stay Loose%

 

18. The Boy Done Wrong Again #

 

19. Poor Boy%

 

20. Dog On Wheels%

 

21. The Boy With The Arab Strap+

 

22. I Didn’t See It Coming+

 

23. Belle And Sebastian #

 

 

 

£ recorded Banchory Studios, Glasgow, August 6, 2020 (digital version)

 

> recorded by Kenneth McKellar (vinyl + CD versions)

 

* The Boaty Weekender, August 10, 2019

 

+ Royal Oak Theatre, Michigan, July 21, 2019

 

% Union Transfer, Philadelphia, PA, July 12, 2019

 

# House Of Blues, Boston, MA, July 13, 2019

 

 ^ M-Telus, Montreal, QC, July 15, 2019

 

@ Carnegie Hall - Pittsburgh, PA, July 18, 2019

 

 & House Of Blues, Cleveland, OH, July 19, 2019

 

$ Auditoria Baluarte, Pamplona, Barcelona, November 4, 2019

 

 

 

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