I'm Waking Up to Us

by

Belle and Sebastian

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Of course, it's all so subjective, but I think this single is the best they've produced so far. The openning track is more formally satyrical, the lead singer actually stylizing his singing voice quite dramatically! It's odd that this is the title song, though. Although certainly very enjoyable (great back-up vocals that you'll have to sing along with) it's not the best of the three.

The following tracks, however, are really fantastic.

I love my car is so beautifully produced, has such rich sound, but retains that honest crisp sound that Belle and Sebastian make their trademark. The melody is amazingly catchy (if a bit jingle-like) and the beat is infectious in an old dixieland jazz kind of way. This is the first track that suddenly hit me, and I listened to it over and over, like seven or eight times in a row.

But most astounding is Marx and Engels, which I think is their most beautiful song to date. As always, their lyrics are fascinating, but the melody is just so sweet and rhapsodic. Again, the producing is really excellent. All the instrumentation is very well played and surrounds you in a soft, warm shower of harmony. With a lovely vocal counterpoint and an almost mystical ending, this song has more of a dramatic shape than most Belle and Sebastian songs. It travels farther and offers an interesting revelation at the very end. It's a total classic.