Belle and Sebastian screening out those haters

Belle and Sebastian are happy to ignore the jibes and just get on with the music, says Ed Power.

IF YOU know Belle and Sebastian by reputation alone, mere mention of their name may be enough to set your eyes rolling. In popular consciousness, the Glasgow band are the evolutionary dead-end of self-satisfied indie-pop , so ragingly smug as to be indigestible by anyone who doesn’t source their clothing exclusively at charity stores and wear different shades of Chuck Converse runner every day.

In fact, their status as the six-headed Wes Anderson of alternative rock is ill-deserved. Far from sugary and self-satisfied, Belle and Sebastian at their finest radiate heart-breaking beauty. Think of them as The Smiths’ unencumbered by Morrissey’s vast ego: this is music for (and possibly by) underdogs — exquisitely bitter-sweet and, should you belong to their tribe, possibly life-changing.