Belle & Sebastian – The Life Pursuit (Rough Trade)

Age does not weary Belle & Sebastian. Neither, in fact, does it persuade them to do anything wildly different from the shiny, whimsical and proudly poetic 60s-tinged guitar pop they've been chucking out with generally exponential success for the past decade. From 'Another Sunny Day''s “I took a photograph of you in the herbaceous border” to the crunchy laundry-as-metaphor-for-longevity post-T Rex delight of 'The Blues Are Still Blue', B&S are admittedly not suddenly about to convert, say, Trivium's fanbase to their charms. But although the fey factor will continue to repel the unadventurous, closer inspection reveals 'The Life Pursuit' to be brimming with confidence, neat baroque flourishes and sensitive, witty songwriting chutzpah.

Charlie Ivens