Belle and Sebastian and Perfume Genius

Reigning twee champions Belle & Sebastian’s new record Girls in Peacetime Want to Dance is that classic maneuver of a mid-late career band looking to “reinvent,” the primary differences here being lead Belle Stuart Murdoch probably wasn’t pressured into it by label bigwigs, and the results are nothing close to a disaster. Sure, the idea of B&S making a “dance” record would have seemed preposterous back in their heartsick heyday, but what the world needs these days isn’t another sincere, bookish singer-songwriter, but a sincere, bookish, funk-minded bandleader. Murdoch’s also revealed a latent political bent, learning what Curtis Mayfield and David Byrne learned before him: lead with the ass and the head will follow. KYLE FLECK