Belle and Sebastian — The BBC Sessions

Slight Scottish indie rockers Belle And Sebastian are well into their second decade now, so the timing of an early period rarities release is a bit odd. That said, the fact that many of the outfit's most beloved tracks occurred within the band's first few years certainly informs the logic. Besides, BBC Sessions releases are always somewhat novel for us North Americans, especially since these ones contain heavy vocal contributions from the long-departed Isobel Campbell. The collection's highlights are five previously unreleased tunes, including the peppy "The Magic Of A Kind Word," the oh-so-precious "Nothing In The Silence" and the bizarre spoke/sung tosser "Shoot the Sexual Athlete," which is probably the closest the band ever came to writing a Gary Numan tune (i.e. not very close).

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