There's not much on Belle and Sebastian's first five albums to suggest that the Scottish popsters carry a flag for Seventies Irish rockers Thin Lizzy. But although Belle and Sebastian's sixth record, Dear Catastrophe Waitress, released earlier this month, offers plenty of the clever, well-orchestrated pop songs the Glaswegian septet is known for, one track, "I'm A Cuckoo," is an obvious nod to Thin Lizzy's signature riffs.

"Coming from a provincial coastal town in the Seventies, there was no escape from metal," says Belle and Sebastian frontman Stuart Murdoch. "I like to think I found the soul and the melodies in a bad bunch, because the groups I loved, their records stand up. Thin Lizzy's Live and Dangerous [1978] was a legend in our parts. The appeal was Phil [Thin Lizzy leader Lynott] and his tunes and lonely, boyish concerns. I loved him like a brother."

Since the release of Belle and Sebastian's last full length, 2000's Fold Your Hands Child, You Walk Like A Peasant, original members Stuart David and Isobel Campbell both departed for solo careers, David with electro act Looper, and Campbell releasing her debut Amorino the same day as Waitress came out. And the new sounds on Waitress -- "I'm A Cuckoo"'s classic rock sound, as well as the New Wave inflections of "Stay Loose" -- are in part products of Belle and Sebastian's new lineup and group dynamic. "I have a lot of confidence in the group now," Murdoch says, "and those two songs came tailored to fit the aptitudes of the players at present. I want to feel like Smokey Robinson in the midst of the Funk Brothers, and on occasional days I think the band measures up, in their studious, white, West of Scotland way, even if I don't."

One of the more traditional, lush Belle and Sebastian tracks on Waitress is "Piazza, New York Catcher," about New York Mets catcher Mike Piazza, who held a press conference this past year to proclaim his heterosexuality. The song contains the line "Piazza, New York catcher, are you straight or are you gay?"

"When I was sick in 1999 and 2000, I used to watch a lot of baseball," Murdoch says. "My mention of that matter was based on a chance comment my friend made at one of the games. But it is more a comment on the commentary, rather than any real concern for Mr. Piazza's bent. We love Mike. Me and my friend Marisa went to Florida for spring training, but we couldn't get him in a picture alone. So she ended up dressing in a Mets jersey and a cut out moustache and I took pictures of her instead."

COLIN DEVENISH
(October 27, 2003)