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Belle and Sebastian have built up a cult following with their literate, wisecracking songs about sexual confusion, heartache, and loneliness -- the stuff of angst- and tea-filled afternoons. While the Scottish baroque pop troupe haven't exactly changed their tune on their sixth album, there are some signs of restlessness. They've employed a top-shelf producer in Trevor Horn (best known for his work with Seal, Frankie Goes to Hollywood, and T.A.T.U.), who brings a crisper sound and more intricate arrangements. Horn allows the band to explore more stylistic diversions, though overall they wear a breezier attitude. Some of the skip in the kids' steps might be due to the departure of original member Isobel Campbell, whose gnarled relations with her teammates is said to have caused much tension. But whatever the cause, there's a palpable joy and airiness to the garage-pop stomp "Roy Walker," the positively jaunty "If You Find Yourself Caught in Love," and the lush "Step into My Office, Baby," buoyed by complex but cotton candy–light vocal arrangements. Elsewhere, the band evoke the angular new wave of early Elvis Costello and Television ("Stay Loose") and proffer a string-laden mini-opera in "Lord Anthony." And if their musical reach doesn't sway dyed-in-the-anorak fans, the dew-eyed "If She Wants Me" and the Thin Lizzy paean "I'm a Cuckoo" -- both of which rank among B&S's best moments -- make this a welcome, and welcoming, return. Lydia Vanderloo
All Music Guide
After the near-disaster of forced democracy on Fold Your Hands Child, You Walk Like a Peasant and the stultifying holding pattern of the Storytelling soundtrack, where Todd Solondz brought out their worst tendencies, it seemed that Belle & Sebastian were disappearing into their own preciousness, but then something unexpected happened: they returned to form with 2003's Dear Catastrophe Waitress. This was unexpected not just because their last efforts suggested that B&S no longer could produce a consistently engaging work, but because their savior came in the guise of Trevor Horn, the man who successfully helped Yes turn new wave, the man best known for his synth-heavy productions of ABC and Frankie Goes to Hollywood, the man who was last heard producing everybody's favorite Russian teen lesbian duo, Tatu. That diverse resumé suggests that Horn knows how to play to a band's strengths, and he certainly helps Belle & Sebastian regain their focus and vision, turning Dear Catastrophe Waitress into one of the group's best albums. One of the reasons that album works so well is that the notion that the band has no leader has been discarded, with Stuart Murdoch thankfully serving as the lead singer and songwriter throughout the record. Murdoch's songs are firmly within the patented Belle & Sebastian style, and while it may be true that he's not stretching himself much as a writer, that doesn't matter because he sounds assured and confident, turning out a set of songs that are finely crafted and tuneful. It's among his catchiest work, if not quite his cleverest, since the words occasionally offer an overdose of whimsy that leads to queasiness. And that's where Horn comes in -- by keeping the focus on the tunes and subtly varying the production, he's made Dear Catastrophe Waitress the richest musical offering yet from Belle & Sebastian. If it doesn't quite have the timeless feel of If You're Feeling Sinister, so be it, since this is their first record since that defining album to offer a similarly rich listen, and that's quite a comeback for a band that only an album ago seemed to peak too early. Stephen Thomas Erlewine
Rolling Stone
The performances are tighter, confident, even bouncy, bringing the band much closer to the vintage pop and soul records it adores. Barry Walters
Spin Magazine
The songs are always smart, and it's the music-librarian's humor that helps keep things from slipping into the maudlin. (B+) Will Hermes
NME
In under an hour B&S have reversed their decline, producing an album that ranks alongside ‘If You’re Feeling Sinister’. (8 of 10) Anthony Thornton
Blender
Murdoch's gift for loopy, tender, unshakeable hymns, stomps and meditations is untouchable. Douglas Wolk
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