Push Barman to Open Old Wounds

Disc 1
1	Dog on Wheels 3:11
2	The State I Am In 4:59
3	String Bean Jean 4:43
4	Belle and Sebastian 4:36
5	Lazy Line Painter Jane 5:49
6	You Made Me Forget My Dreams 3:50
7	A Century of Elvis 4:29
8	Photo Jenny 3:14
9	A Century of Fakers 4:29
10	Le Pastie de la Bourgeoisie 3:10
11	Beautiful 5:13
12	Put the Book Back on the Shelf 6:24
Disc 2
1	This Is Just a Modern Rock Song 7:12
2	I Know Where the Summer Goes 4:37
3	The Gate 4:27
4	Slow Graffiti 3:25
5	Legal Man 2:42
6	Judy Is a Dick Slap 4:05
7	Winter Wooskie 2:41
8	Jonathan David 2:59
9	Take Your Carriage Clock and Shove It 3:35
10	The Loneliness of a Middle Distance Runner 4:34
11	I'm Waking Up to Us 3:49
12	I Love My Car 5:12
13	Marx and Engels 3:45

Barnes & Noble

Join the club! That appears to be the message behind this anthology of Belle & Sebastian's early singles. As their anorak-clad fans have long known, some of the Scottish indie-pop group's best songs appeared on the seven EPs compiled here -- from early highlights such as "Lazy Line Painter Jane" and "Dog on Wheels" to later, farther-reaching tunes like the effervescent shimmy "Legal Man" and the Zombies-esque "Jonathan David." Plus, it's all non-album material, and the two-disc format makes for convenient listening, even for fans who have all the individual discs (the booklet also contains lyrics and original cover art, so really, all you're missing is a lot of extra plastic). While every track on the first disc is essential indie listening, the second disc, in particular, shows the band pushing themselves in new directions, from the garage-pop instrumental "Judy Is a Dick Slap," suggestive of B&S's soundtrack work for Storytelling, to the twangy, strings-laden "Take Your Carriage Clock and Shove It." Moreover, some of Stuart Murdoch's best couplets are contained within these laser-driven grooves, e.g., "So I gave myself to God / There was a pregnant pause before he said, Okay" ("The State I Am In") and "We're four boys in our corduroys / We're not terrific but we're competent" ("This Is Just a Modern Rock Song"). Not since Morrissey's golden days has a pop band captured the anxiety of outcast youth with such well-versed aplomb. Lydia Vanderloo

All Music Guide

Belle & Sebastian never felt tied down to the album as the ultimate expression of a band's worth. Put simply, they didn't feel the need to hold back their best songs for albums; the fourth song on a four-song EP was just as likely to be among their finest as any other. For proof check out Push Barman to Open New Wounds, a handy compilation of the group's EPs recorded between 1997 and 2001 for Jeepster and Matador. Beginning with "Dog on Wheels" all the way through, the band used its EPs as means of exploring new sounds and angles (check the groovy '60s spy song "Legal Man," the epic in length and scope "This Is Just a Modern Love Song," the bubbly sunshine pop of "I Love My Car," or the silly instrumental "Judy Is a Dick Slap") as well as an outlet for great songs that wouldn't fit on albums, like "Slow Graffiti," "A Century of Fakers," and "Lazy Line Painter Jane." Some of the tracks here would be pillars on a B&S greatest-hits compilation too; fantastic songs like "Dog on Wheels," "The State I Am In," "I'm Waking Up to Us," and "Put the Book Back on the Shelf." Push Barman to Open New Wounds is essential listening, the third disc you should get by the band behind If You're Feeling Sinister and Dear Catastrophe Waitress. Even if you already have all the EPs, you'll want to get this disc. It is reasonable priced, housed in the usual attractive package, and hearing all the songs back to back reinforces what an amazing group Belle & Sebastian were and are. [The disc also comes in a deluxe package, though all that means is that instead of a jewel case it comes in a hardcover book-style jacket.] Tim Sendra

Rolling Stone

Two discs of steady brilliance. Rob Sheffield