Fold Your Hands Child, You Walk Like A Peasant (Matador)
Rating: 6 out of 7
By Ken Micallef
Wow. What a difference four years makes. When Glasgow's Belle & Sebastian hit U.S. shores in 1996 with If You're Feeling Sinister, its mix of delicate melodies and humorous, introspective lyrics quickly found a legion of fans. But where Sinister was quaint and often precious, sounding like coffeehouse folkies with pick-up musicians, Peasant is pretty, but shows much maturation both lyrically and in the production.
The excellent recording quality places singer/guitarist Stuart Murdoch and company front-and-center, adding impact to eloquent and memorable songs. "Don't Leave The Light On Baby" chronicles one moment in a breakup with beauty and grace, with a chorus that sounds like a lost Burt Bacharach gem, only better. A full string section is used here and in other songs, but far from being maudlin, it only makes the songs more majestic. And the lyrics are still funny; as in "The Model," where Murdoch sings "I'm okay with girl next door whose famous for showing her chest."
"The Wrong Girl" recalls Jimmy Webb or perhaps '60s era Glen Campbell, "Nice Day For A Sulk" sounds like the Beatles' "Penny Lane" through the eyes of Donovan Leitch. But the album's most impressive song may be its first, "I Fought In A War." Sounding like Phil Ochs after reading All Quiet On The Western Front, Murdoch sings solo with a guitar, relating the tragedy of boys killing boys. It's a powerful, misty-eyed beginning to a grand album of bright songs.
All recordings courtesy Matador Records. All songs written by S. Murdoch; courtesy of Sony/ATV Tunes LLC (ASCAP).
