francis

I want to make it clear that that Francis in anonymous format is not me...next time I'll avoid allowing anonymous comments.

The controversy was about to begin, and I quelled it with my intervention, despite those who think I always want to provoke! Anyway, let’s get back to talking about the album: a small note... due to a transcription error, I wrote about a "Tony Visconti boriano," when I obviously meant "bowiano"... the usual headaches from Microsoft Office...

Listen, behind many of my reviews there's a work of research and reflection that I don't believe deserves to be dismissed with just a rating and a few comments... I almost never write randomly, every word is weighed and considered. I'm not saying that criticism isn't allowed because the freedom to judge is a right, but I would simply ask for a bit more reasoning. That's all, I invited you to avoid the controversy for the simple reason that it wouldn't benefit either of us, I suppose.

Punisher, it's clear that if you make certain remarks while commenting on my review, one automatically assumes you're referring to me... I haven't threatened you at all. Since I interpreted a certain allusion to my review as you needed to explain the rating you gave me, it was obvious that I would respond to you this way. That's all, I wasn't looking for controversy.

Listen to me carefully, Punisher: this won't be the best review I've written (even though many others would build a reputation on it), but I won't accept lessons on how to talk about an album, especially from you, who adopts only the style of shooting at the Red Cross with albums that can only be criticized. Don't drag me into a pointless flame war because honestly, I care little or nothing about a 5 given by you, but just avoid trying to play the teacher. Avoid it, I'm saying this for your own good.

It's a deliberately ordinary review because the album has just been released and with experience I've learned not to get too enthusiastic about newly published work... these are my first impressions, perhaps Graham could have given a bit more emotionally, but the new songs are very enjoyable to listen to, so this is the typical example of a "three-star" album: not one more, not one less.

I gave it four stars taking into account different factors: within the context of B & S's career, in theory these four stars wouldn’t be deserved (however, on a scale that sees, for example, "The Boy With An Arab Strap" at 5, "Dear Catastrophe Waitress" at 3, and "Storytelling" at 2, this "The Life Pursuit" might still aspire to have 4), but if we consider that this will likely be an album aimed at a wider audience, the 4 stars are well justified because, proportionally, this remains a work well above the standards of "mainstream" records (meaning the people who buy Coldplay, James Blunt, Robbie Williams, U2, etc.), with all those references to past music, the lyrics (always beautiful, there's no debate on that), and that slightly naïve air that, despite the booming production, seems to have remained intact especially in the rare moments when Murdoch refreshes his singer-songwriter beginnings. The problem is more related to the fact that now Belle & Sebastian are making "mainstream albums," but I wouldn't worry too much because it's an artistic path that has repeated itself many times in rock history… for example, with the necessary proportions, even Pink Floyd in the early '70s faced pressure from the record label to create more "accessible" albums, and this compromise then led to records like "Wish You Were Here" or "The Wall" which have marked the history of rock. So, returning to the Scots, I wouldn't be concerned about the "mainstream turn" as much as the fact that quite a few songs on this new album are not up to their name, at the expense of some objectively wonderful tracks.

A great album, the revival of indie, what you might call a generational masterpiece. They may be hyped by the press, but who cares, these are the Sex Pistols of the 2000s.

Well, "Movement" is not a bad album, but from what I know it has been completely disowned by New Order, and indeed it couldn't be further from what later became their "trademarks"... on that album, the ghost of Ian Curtis still looms heavy, so I consider it practically a Joy Division record without their singer.

Anyway, my name is Francis, not Vrensis... I should start not to compromise on this as well... do you call Umberto Eco Umperio Oca?