When asked to write this review I couldn’t help indulging in nostalgia for the time I lived in Glasgow. It was the ’90s and the popular book/music shop where I worked in the hip West End was a revolving door of established and soon-to-be cultural icons, both literary and musical – think Alasdair Gray, Irvine Welsh, Teenage Fanclub and The Pastels.I once served John Peel, or, rather, his minder on behalf of Mr Peel, who was standing in the background. You get the picture, and yes, I am bragging a little!

Enter Belle & Sebastian. They were hardly more than a twinkle in the Scottish music scene’s eye yet without the help of social media had already sold out of the 1000 copy vinyl pressing of their debut album, Tigermilk, and people were clamouring for more. I still can’t believe that was 18 years ago. They were regular customers who came to listen to, buy and enthuse about music. I suspect no one in the band would have predicted what was to follow – but who does? I remember hearing them for the first time in a small venue where the audience sat on the floor, cross-legged and captivated. It’s a completely different story now, with sell-out concerts worldwide, but to me their music retains a touch of innocence from those early days. Their fans are still enthralled and fiercely loyal; they’ve just collected more and more along their extraordinary journey.

Belle & Sebastian have always passionately embraced their musical and artistic influences and their long-awaited ninth studio album, Girls in Peacetime Want to Dance, is no exception. The innovative approach of the album is indicative of how much they enjoy challenging themselves as musicians and, consequently, the band’s evolution. Opening track ‘Nobody’s Empire’ is lyrically the most personal and from there you’ll find everything from dancefloor number ‘The Party Line’, infused with an ’80s electro-pop sensibility, to ‘Cat With the Cream’, a beautiful ballad with lush strings and vocal harmonies. They have even dared to set a song about Sylvia Plath, ‘Enter Sylvia Plath’, to a wonderful, driving disco beat! It may come as a surprise to some fans that this album is so danceable, but the superbly crafted songs are still full of their trademark style. Girls in Peacetime Want to Dance is a story about love, and life, but it’s also a joyous celebration of ‘pop’ power.

Judi Mitchell