Dear Catastrophe Waitress [20th Anniversary] [LP] in Bloomington, MN

After the near-disaster of forced democracy on
Fold Your Hands Child, You Walk Like a Peasant
and the stultifying holding pattern of the
Storytelling
soundtrack
, where
Todd Solondz
brought out their worst tendencies, it seemed that
Belle & Sebastian
were disappearing into their own preciousness, but then something unexpected happened: they returned to form with 2003's
Dear Catastrophe Waitress
. This was unexpected not just because their last efforts suggested that
B&S
no longer could produce a consistently engaging work, but because their savior came in the guise of
Trevor Horn
, the man who successfully helped
Yes
turn
new wave
, the man best known for his synth-heavy productions of
ABC
and
Frankie Goes to Hollywood
, the man who was last heard producing everybody's favorite Russian teen lesbian duo,
Tatu
. That diverse resume suggests that
Horn
knows how to play to a band's strengths, and he certainly helps
regain their focus and vision, turning
into one of the group's best albums. One of the reasons that album works so well is that the notion that the band has no leader has been discarded, with
Stuart Murdoch
thankfully serving as the lead singer and songwriter throughout the record.
Murdoch
's songs are firmly within the patented
style, and while it may be true that he's not stretching himself much as a writer, that doesn't matter because he sounds assured and confident, turning out a set of songs that are finely crafted and tuneful. It's among his catchiest work, if not quite his cleverest, since the words occasionally offer an overdose of whimsy that leads to queasiness. And that's where
comes in -- by keeping the focus on the tunes and subtly varying the production, he's made
the richest musical offering yet from
. If it doesn't quite have the timeless feel of
If You're Feeling Sinister
, so be it, since this is their first record since that defining album to offer a similarly rich listen, and that's quite a comeback for a band that only an album ago seemed to peak too early. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine