MUSIC
Belle and Sebastian ★★★★
Palais Theatre, August 23
To attend a Belle and Sebastian concert is to go back in time. It’s the late ’90s or early 2000s, and searching bookstores and libraries for something to love, you spot a pleasant-looking album and take it home. You pop it into the CD player and let the warmth spill out, that striped sunlight sound painting colour into your monochrome life.
Belle and Sebastian are led by Stuart Murdoch.Credit: Richard Clifford
The Scottish band’s earnest, bookish indie pop, often labelled twee with either affection or derision, captures a time and place. It’s evident by their Melbourne audience, all stripes, berets and cardigans. But life has happened, too: many have their kids in tow, hoping to pass the magic on.
Together for almost three decades, Belle and Sebastian are one of the great indie legacy acts: they’re still releasing music, but certain albums will always define both them and their fans.
It’s a blessing and a curse, but so is growing up. The precious naivete of some of the group’s earliest songs is lost in their polished performances now, but the joy remains palpable. Blooming to a nine-piece live, including a couple of local musicians, the band – led by the affable, chatty Stuart Murdoch – is a well-oiled machine, with splashes of occasional chaos. Unlike many touring bands, they don’t have a standard set list – each night is different, and anything could happen.
On this night, the sound mix is muddled and drowns out some of the band’s intricacies – their setup includes winds, brass, strings and vocal harmonies. Newer songs such as So In the Moment and Reclaim the Night (sung by the endearingly shambolic Stevie Jackson and sweet-voiced Sarah Martin, respectively) are bombastic, as are mostly unnecessary background projections.
Belle and Sebastian perform at The Palais, August 23, 2024. Credit: Richard Clifford
It’s nice enough, but the audience is largely seated and passive until one of those classic songs, Get Me Away From Here, I’m Dying, has everyone on their feet at once.
From there it picks up, with all the old hallmarks: the band inviting crowd members onto the stage to dance to The Boy with the Arab Strap, Murdoch prancing down the aisles during Stay Loose. Rearrangements of decades-old songs make them feel fresh – the acoustic Piazza, New York Catcher gets a lush makeover, and Sleep the Clock Around, subtle on record, receives a jolt of electric energy. It feels both old and new, like opening a dusty book you forgot you’d written your name in, and remembering what was there the whole time.
Reviewed by Giselle Au-Nhien Nguyen