Singles

Belle and Sebastian - I Want The World To Stop

Mike Hughes 12/01/2011

Rating: 3/5

Belle and Sebastian are such an institution they need little introduction, and their output is often a surprise. With new single 'I Want The World To Stop', the second single from current album 'Write About Love', they keep a slight ambience of twee but come sailing in with syncopated beat, making it feel like this was caught in the airwaves of some seventies easy listening moment. There are cheesy keyboards and a slight but catchy tune. You can whistle along, and there's a pleasant feeling of familiarity as though this was the soundtrack to a Saturday afternoon TV show when we were all kids.

It's pleasant enough, but if I am ever tempted to dig Belle and Sebastian out of my record collection (and I frequently am) it is for some more pithy offering than this. We can all clap along to slappy bass lines, but where is Lazy Line Painter Jane when you need her? It's nice enough but it's not going to set anyone's world on fire. Lyrical reference to Balzac, Brookside and Bach just isn't enough to satisfy the longing for pretension that can normally be sated by a dose of B&S.

Release date: 17/01/2011