Tigermilk (Tigermilk - Belle & Sebastian)

Member Name: davepridd

Product:	Tigermilk - Belle & Sebastian
Date:	07/07/00 (60 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Beautiful songs

Disadvantages: Some weaker tracks

This is Belle and Sebastian's debut album, and considering how low the budget was and how quickly they produced it, it is remarkable. Although some of the tracks are a bit weak and the production is not up to the professional 'Fold your hands child...', I think it is much better than 'The Boy with the Arab Strap'. The instrumentation is very diverse, and is all played very skilfully, giving several very intricate arrangements without sounding as twee as they do on other albums.

I think 'Mary Jo' is probably the best track the group have ever written; the music is as near as pop can possibly get to classical with its beautiful flute solos, and the lyrics are witty but also very affecting. Some of the tracks aim to capture the spirit of 60s pop groups and do so very well, especially the very jaunty 'She's losing it'. Some of the lyrics are much more personal than on other albums, especially the autobiographical 'The state I am in' or 'We rule the school'.

Acoustic guitars make up the majority of the music, but there is also a lot of piano, cello and flute which gives the sound a much more rounded feel. It only goes wrong on experimental numbers such as 'Electronic Renaissance'.

Summary: