Belle and Sebastian

Fold Your Hands Child, You Walk Like a Peasant

The fragile worlds of innumerable kids in cordeuroys hung in the balance over the past year as Scottish popsters Belle and Sebastian took their sweet time recording and releasing their latest Matador records album, Fold Your Hands Child, You Walk Like a Peasant. Finally, they can now liberate their turntables from old Felt records and replace them with B&Sıs latest superb offering.

Fold Your Hands finds the band experimenting more freely with lush orchestration and with new voices leading the band in preparation for the departure of lead vocalist Stuart David, who will concentrate on his other project, Looper, for the time being. Despite a few new moves, Belle and Sebastian continue to produce some of the most charming pop tunes to grace turntables since the late sixties when geniuses like Brian Wilson and Lou Reed ruled their respective scenes.

"I Fought in a War," the albumıs first track, begins in typical fashion, with Davidıs fragile voice crooning breathily over a lightly strummed acoustic guitar. By the conclusion of the song the chorus has become infectiously memorable, crecendoing to an ecstatic peak rivaling "The Stars of Track and Field," a classic from 1996ıs If Youıre Feeling Sinister. A catchy toe-tapper, "The Model" follows, and while it may sound nothing like Kraftwerkıs 1979 song with the same title, the lilting vocal melodies and biting lyrics make for an equally memorable tune.

Like each of the bandıs other records, Fold Your Hands contains several excellect tunes and a few duds, most notably the embarrasingly unlistenable "Beyond the Sunrise." The bluesy "Donıt Leave the Light on Baby" fits poorly with B&Sıs pop tendencies, and "Nice Day for a Sulk" drones tediously instead of hurtling to a powerful climax like their best songs.

However, band members other than David shine behind the microphone, providing promise to those worried the band will fade without him. Thought The Boy With the Arab Strapıs "Seymour Stein" was the best song guitarist Stuart Murdoch would ever sing? Think again. "The Wrong Girl" sounds like the hit the Birds never had and is one of the albums strongest songs. The punchy "Womenıs Realm" joins it as a clear standout, and includes Davidıs best phrase-turning to date, as he sings, "What when wrong?/Your grades were good/It would take a left wing Robin Hood to pay for school."

New violinist Sarah Martin also shines, especially on "Family Tree," which goes down as smooth as anything on the Velvet Undergroundıs third album.

Amazingly, B&S have managed to release their fourth album without showing any signs of waning in creativity or dignity. Put those Felt records away for another time.