Belle and Sebastian Write About Love

"Write About Love" redirects here. For the title track from this album, see Write About Love (song).
Belle and Sebastian Write about Love
Studio album by Belle & Sebastian
Released 11 October 2010
12 October 2010 (North America)[1]
Recorded Early/Mid 2010
(Los Angeles, California)
Genre Indie pop
Label Rough Trade
Producer Tony Hoffer
Belle & Sebastian chronology

The BBC Sessions
(2008)		 Belle and Sebastian Write About Love
(2010)		 The Third Eye Centre
(2013)
Professional ratings
Review scores
Source Rating
Allmusic [2]
BBC (very positive)[3]
Clash [4]
Consequence of Sound [5]
Drowned in Sound [5]
NME [6]
Pitchfork Media (8.2/10)[7]
Slant Magazine [8]
Spin [9]
Uncut [10]

Belle and Sebastian Write about Love (also known informally as Write about Love) is the eighth studio album by indie-pop group Belle & Sebastian released on 11 October 2010. The album is the second collaboration between Belle & Sebastian and Tony Hoffer, who produced their previous album, The Life Pursuit.[11]

History

Belle and Sebastian Write about Love was initially revealed by Belle & Sebastian in early 2010 when they mentioned in the Q&A section of their official website that they had recently visited Los Angeles, California to record the tracks for the album. In a follow-up question, Stuart Murdoch confirmed that producer Tony Hoffer had returned for this album. The album's title was officially announced by Murdoch in a posting on Belle & Sebastian's website on 11 August 2010.[12] On 16 August 2010, Murdoch announced the album cover, release dates, as well as a clip on YouTube of a planned Belle & Sebastian television show.[13]

Two tracks from the album were played by the band during their 2010 tour. "I Didn't See It Coming" is a duet featuring Stuart Murdoch and Sarah Martin, while "I'm Not Living in the Real World" features Stevie Jackson primarily on vocals. On 16 August 2010, another track was announced, titled "I Want the World to Stop".[13] Norah Jones is featured on the track "Little Lou, Ugly Jack, Prophet John".[14]

On 3 September 2010, the names of five new songs set to feature on the album were shown during the credits of the promotional "Belle and Sebastian TV" programme. These are "Blue Eyes of a Millionaire", "Suicide Girl" and "I Can See Your Future" (all credited to the group), as well as "The Telephone Song" and "If I Can't Help Myself" (both credited to guitarist Stevie Jackson).

The title track, "Write About Love", was announced as the lead single from the album and was also released as a free, limited-time download from Belle & Sebastian's website.[15] The single was released in the US iTunes Store on 7 September 2010, with a worldwide release on 25 September 2010.[16]

Track listing

All songs written and composed by Belle & Sebastian. 

No. Title Length
1. "I Didn't See It Coming" (Sarah Martin on lead vocals) 5:02
2. "Come on Sister"   3:53
3. "Calculating Bimbo"   4:21
4. "I Want the World to Stop"   4:33
5. "Little Lou, Ugly Jack, Prophet John" (featuring Norah Jones) 4:33
6. "Write About Love" (featuring Carey Mulligan) 2:53
7. "I'm Not Living in the Real World" (Stevie Jackson on lead vocals) 3:09
8. "The Ghost of Rockschool"   4:34
9. "Read the Blessed Pages"   2:43
10. "I Can See Your Future" (Sarah Martin on lead vocals) 3:50
11. "Sunday's Pretty Icons"   3:44

Personnel

  • Norah Jones – vocals on "Little Lou, Ugly Jack, Prophet John"
  • Carey Mulligan – vocals on "Write About Love"
  • Mick Cooke – arranger
  • Sarah Martin – arranger on "I Can See Your Future"
  • Tony Hoffer – producer, mixing, programming
  • Todd Burke – engineer
  • Cameron Lister – assistant engineer
  • Frank Arkwright – mastering
  • Stuart Murdoch – liner notes, photography
  • Marisa Privitera – assistant
  • Seth Mitchell – guest guitar on "I Want the World to Stop", "Write About Love", "I Can See Your Future"
  • Eric Gorfain – violin, conductor
  • Daphne Chen – violin
  • Melissa Reiner – violin
  • Amy Wickman – violin
  • Wes Precourt – violin
  • Lauren Chipman – viola
  • Richard Dodd – cello
  • Matt Cooker – cello
  • John Krovoza – cello on "I Want the World to Stop", "I Can See Your Future"
  • Noah Gladstone – trombone
  • Bruce Otto – bass trombone on "I Can See Your Future"
  • Stephanie Stetson – French horn
  • Danielle Ondarza – French horn
  • Stephanie O'Keefe – French horn

Chart positions

Belle & Sebastian Write About Love entered the UK albums chart in its first week of release, peaking at No. 8 as of 19 October 2010.[17] This marks their highest chart placement yet, tied with their previous studio album The Life Pursuit. The album has also risen to No. 21 in Ireland, becoming their highest charting album in that country. It has also topped the UK independent album chart.[18] Additionally, the opening track I Didn't See It Coming entered the UK independent singles chart at No. 38.[19] In the United States the album peaked at No. 15, their highest chart placement there.[20] The album entered the Italian Album Chart at No. 65, just a step backwards compared to the previous The Life Pursuit which reached No. 56 in 2006.[21][22]

Chart Peak
European Top 100 Albums[23] 43
German Albums Chart[24] 38
Canadian Albums Chart 23
United Kingdom Top 100 8
United Kingdom Independent Chart 1
Ireland 21
Sweden 18
Netherlands 41[25]
Australia 74
United States 15
Italy 65[26]
France 54[26]

References

  1. ↑ Belle and Sebastian announce release date, real album cover and tv show, Pitchfork Media, 16 August 2010, archived from the original on 19 August 2010, retrieved 16 August 2010
  2. ↑ Erlewine, Stephen. "Allmusic: Album Reviews: Belle And Sebastian: Write About Love". Retrieved 13 October 2010.
  3. ↑ Wade, Ian. "Review of Belle and Sebastian – Belle and Sebastian Write About Love".
  4. ↑ Welsh, April. "Belle And Sebastian – Belle and Sebastian Write About Love – Clash Music Latest Album Review".
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 Cosores, Phil. "Belle and Sebastian – Write About Love". Archived from the original on 9 October 2010. Retrieved 4 October 2010.
  6. ↑ Dosanjh, Ash. "Album review: Belle & Sebastian – Write About Love (Rough Trade)". Retrieved 2011.
  7. ↑ Wolk, Douglas. "Belle and Sebastian Write About Love". Archived from the original on 13 November 2010. Retrieved 17 November 2010.
  8. ↑ Cole, Matthew. "Belle and Sebastian: Write About Love". Archived from the original on 14 October 2010. Retrieved 11 October 2010.
  9. ↑ Modell, Josh. "Belle and Sebastian, 'Write About Love' (Matador) Belle Époque: Famed chroniclers of that awkward stage stay classy". Archived from the original on 10 October 2010. Retrieved 1 October 2010.
  10. ↑ Richards, Sam (November 2010). "Belle & Sebastian – Write About Love". Uncut. p. 81.
  11. ↑ Murdoch, Stuart (16 August 2010), Belle and Sebastian: Q&A (Search results for Hoffer), Belle and Sebastian, retrieved 16 August 2010
  12. ↑ Murdoch, Stuart (11 August 2010), A Note From Stuart, Belle and Sebastian, archived from the original on 16 August 2010, retrieved 16 August 2010
  13. ↑ 13.0 13.1 Murdoch, Stuart (16 August 2010), Belle and Sebastian Write About Love, Belle and Sebastian, archived from the original on 18 August 2010, retrieved 16 August 2010
  14. ↑ Yentch, Katrina (19 August 2010), Norah Jones to sing on new Belle and Sebastian album, Under the Radar, archived from the original on 22 August 2010, retrieved 4 September 2010/
  15. ↑ Murdoch, Stuart (7 September 2010), Belle and Sebastian Write About Love – album details and mp3, Belle and Sebastian, archived from the original on 10 September 2010, retrieved 7 August 2010
  16. ↑ Murdoch, Stuart (3 September 2010), Be First To Hear Write About Love, Belle and Sebastian, archived from the original on 6 September 2010, retrieved 3 September 2010
  17. ↑ "Archive Chart". Theofficialcharts.com. 23 October 2010. Retrieved 24 November 2010.
  18. ↑ "Archive Chart". Theofficialcharts.com. 23 October 2010. Retrieved 24 November 2010.
  19. ↑ "Archive Chart". Theofficialcharts.com. 23 October 2010. Retrieved 24 November 2010.
  20. ↑ http://www.billboard.com/artist/281162/belle-sebastian/chart
  21. ↑ "An article on the Belle and Sebastian Fan Site". belleandsebastian.it. 16 February 2006. Retrieved 24 November 2010.
  22. ↑ "FIMI – Federazione Industria Musicale Italiana – Classifiche". Fimi.it. 16 February 2006. Retrieved 24 November 2010.
  23. ↑ http://www.billboard.com/#/charts/european-albums?begin=31&order=position
  24. ↑ ":: MTV | Album Top 50 KW 46 | charts". Mtv.de. 19 November 2010. Archived from the original on 30 December 2010. Retrieved 24 November 2010.
  25. ↑ Steffen Hung. "Belle And Sebastian – Write About Love". finnishcharts.com. Retrieved 24 November 2010.
  26. ↑ 26.0 26.1 "FIMI – Federazione Industria Musicale Italiana – Classifiche". Fimi.it. 14 November 2010. Retrieved 24 November 2010.

External links