Belle and Sebastian are my favourite band of all time, and it all started with this album. First put together by the band as a supposed "one-off" college experiment, it contains a nice round total of 10 tracks, many of which have become favourites for B&S fans. A very limited number of vinyl copies were pressed to begin with, but the tremendous popularity of the CD lead to a greater run being issued. All in all, it has become a classic and resulted in the band becoming darlings of the indie community. Singer Stuart Murdoch much displays early talent as a master wordsmith in these songs, singing sometimes funny and sometimes heartbreaking stories in the both the first and third person narrative. Every number is also sung in a delicate Scottish accent. The orchestration is particularly impressive throughout this extremely melodic batch of tracks, with everything from flute being utilized in the beautiful ballad "We Rule the School" to rich synthesizer sounds used in "Electronic Renaissance". I personally love this album and believe it is a perfect introduction to those who haven't heard the band before. For those who have already heard later material, I feel this is a strong addition to any music collection, helping listeners to hear just how far the band have come in the past decade and a half.