Belle and Sebastian Write About Love
by Belle and Sebastian
  • Record Label: Matador
  • Release Date: Oct 12, 2010
Metascore
75

Generally favorable reviews - based on 30 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 22 out of 30
  2. Mixed: 8 out of 30
  3. Negative: 0 out of 30
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  1. PopMatters
    Oct 21, 2010
    90
    Overall, Belle and Sebastian Write About Love plays like a greatest hits, though not necessarily of former songs.
  2. No Ripcord
    Oct 21, 2010
    90
    Write About Love may not be a great leap forward for Belle and Sebastian, but it's such an enjoyable record it's difficult to hold it against them.
  3. Clash Music
    Oct 21, 2010
    90
    Somewhat removed from the robust radio friendly pop of their first Hoffer collaboration The Life Pursuit, this latest record inhabits a more delicate sonic framework, reminiscent of early B & S.
  5. The Boston Phoenix
    Oct 21, 2010
    88
    As the obviousness of Write About Love's title implies (it could have been called Play and Sing!), Belle & Sebastian are looking to get back to basics with their first album since 2005's tremendous The Life Pursuit.
  6. Pitchfork
    Oct 21, 2010
    82
    Write About Love is a grower -- the sort of record you need to play repeatedly, listening to how it fits together, before it can really ingratiate itself.
  7. NOW Magazine
    Oct 21, 2010
    80
    The interchanging players fit beautifully into B&S's repertoire of unrequited pop anthems and introspective acoustic ballads.
  8. BBC Music
    Oct 21, 2010
    80
    Write About Love is a cracking pop album and a fine addition to a great band's already impressive catalogue.
  9. Boston Globe
    Oct 21, 2010
    80
    Four years since its last offering, Belle & Sebastian pick up exactly where it left off - more or less - as a confident, pop-obsessed band that is just as interested in replicating the 1960s harmonies of the Zombies as it is in forwarding the cause of well-produced baroque rock.
  10. AllMusic
    Oct 21, 2010
    80
    Song for song, it's as strong as any of their records -- if anything, these 11 songs are the tightest they have ever been -- and Stuart Murdoch remains faithful to the aesthetic he essayed at the outset of his career, finding sustenance in the fine details, his obsessions carrying the weight of passion.
  11. Q Magazine
    Oct 21, 2010
    80
    Stuart Murdoch's lyrical muse is a touch subdued but Come On Sister's moreish synth-pop and the gleeful bubblegum, of Stevie Jackson's I'm Not Living In The Real World prove their sense of indie wonder remains undimmed. [Nov 2010, p.114]
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  12. The Guardian
    Oct 21, 2010
    80
    It takes just under four minutes for Belle and Sebastian's eighth album to demand a place among the best of their career.
  13. Paste Magazine
    Oct 21, 2010
    79
    Belle & Sebastian aren't trying striving for new heights: They're just wounded introverts looking for healing, one wistful melody at a time.
  14. The A.V. Club
    Oct 21, 2010
    75
    The long break didn't stall the group's momentum, but Write About Love suggests Belle And Sebastian may have forgot a trick or two about, well, writing about love.
  15. Under The Radar
    Dec 21, 2010
    70
    On Write About Love, he's in a more traditionally romantic mode, but nonetheless maintains his keen eye for the minutiae of relationships, while never denying the complexity of the attendant emotions.
  16. American Songwriter
    Oct 26, 2010
    70
    Their eighth studio album is somewhere between an extension of their previous indie gems and another baby step towards radio-friendliness.
  17. Delusions of Adequacy
    Oct 21, 2010
    70
    Write About Love may not be remembered as a seminal Belle & Sebastian long-player but its uncomplicated charms still make it an effective ephemeral pleasure.
  18. Drowned In Sound
    Oct 21, 2010
    70
    Celebrity guest star wobbles aside, Write About Love is a well crafted, very listenable album, one that sees Belle and Sebastian ditch the qualities of their music that were starting to cloy without totally jettisoning the old charm.
  19. musicOMH.com
    Oct 21, 2010
    70
    It's good to see Belle and Sebastian back, but let's hope their next album sees a positive progression as opposed to more of the same.
  20. Dot Music
    Oct 21, 2010
    70
    Playful yet touching at (almost) every turn, Write About Love may not shake any musical foundations but it certainly proves that Belle and Sebastian still can't be pigeon-holed.
  21. Prefix Magazine
    Oct 21, 2010
    70
    It's all there in those opening lines: Your familiar arms, I remember.
  22. Spin
    Oct 21, 2010
    70
    Write About Love also feels monumentally comfortable in its own skin. For a band that made its bones meticulously documenting awkwardness, that's a particularly impressive change.
  23. cokemachineglow
    Oct 21, 2010
    63
    Belle & Sebastian are in transition, as they were in the early 2000s, and I can only hope that we don't have to wait another four years for the likely superior follow-up.
  24. Rolling Stone
    Oct 21, 2010
    60
    Frontman Stuart Murdoch entreats over a soul groove on B&S' eighth disc, which loads up on Sixties-pop goodies without diluting the group's willowy kink.
  25. Uncut
    Oct 21, 2010
    60
    It's still excruciatingly fey in places, but then you know what to expect by now. [Nov 2010, p.81]
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  26. Dusted Magazine
    Oct 21, 2010
    60
    For the most part, Write About Love is a disappointment. That's even truer, I suspect, because Belle and Sebastian aren't the only ones getting older.
  27. Sputnikmusic
    Oct 21, 2010
    60
    At the end of the day, the title Write About Love turned out to be just as bland as the music it pertained to.
  28. Billboard.com
    Oct 21, 2010
    59
    On its eighth full-length release, Glasgow, Scotland, indie pop group Belle & Sebastian ditch their sad-vibes-hidden-by-happy-melodies schtick in favor of legitimately upbeat songs.
  29. Tiny Mix Tapes
    Oct 21, 2010
    50
    If Belle and Sebastian appear to be repeating themselves here, maybe that just means there's another minor reinvention coming somewhere down the line.
  30. Slant Magazine
    Oct 21, 2010
    50
    Adding another disappointment to an already inconsistent catalogue, Write About Love confirms that Belle and Sebastian is the type of band that's fully capable of genius, just not reliably or often.
  31. Chicago Tribune
    Oct 21, 2010
    50
    It was a promising evolution, but four years later the Scottish band's new album, Write About Love, sounds like old news.

Awards & Rankings

94
#94 Most Discussed Album of 2010
90
#90 Most Shared Album of 2010

User Reviews

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User Score
7.8

Generally favorable reviews- based on 34 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 30 out of 34
  2. Mixed: 4 out of 34
  3. Negative: 0 out of 34
  1. RyanGee
    Oct 17, 2010
    8
    Belle & Sebastian is known to change their sound with each album. The Life Pursuit was a step towards a more rockish pop sound, but it seemsBelle & Sebastian is known to change their sound with each album. The Life Pursuit was a step towards a more rockish pop sound, but it seems as if they abandoned that progression and went back to the days of "Dear Catastrophe Waitress". Belle & Sebastian's new effort, Write About Love, is more of their reunion album than a true Belle & Sebastian LP. While this description be seen with negative connotation, this is not necessarily true. As said before, Write About Love is a continuation of the poppy songs seen on their 2003 album. The songs in this album are enjoyable, from the title track "Write About Love" to the opening Sarah + Stuart duet "I Didn't See It Coming." The tracks are pure twee, making the album as a whole, pleasant sounding. What makes it not stand out, is that there is essentially no innovation. Aside from the minor-scale sounding "I Didn't See It Coming," Write About Love is purely a pop album. Fans of "If You're Feeling Sinister" or "Tigermilk" may not find as much enjoyment as a new listener, due to the fact that it does not bring anything new to the table. With the innovation aspect set aside, Write About Love is a good album. It is really well crafted, and uses the pop formula to perfection. The melodies are catchy, and structurally, the album is a success. Let's just hope that their next album will be a true B&S album.… Full Review »
  2. Zuwur
    Oct 13, 2010
    8
    More of a "it's not broke so don't fix it" type of release, but B&S's sound has always been enjoyable and infectious, so it's still a treat.More of a "it's not broke so don't fix it" type of release, but B&S's sound has always been enjoyable and infectious, so it's still a treat. Seems like a slight dissapointment at first, but after a few spinsm some of the records more subtle charms start to peak out. As other reviewers have said, the Norah Jones duet is probably the weakest track.… Full Review »
  3. finemind
    Oct 13, 2010
    10
    This appears to be a grower. Well, I've owned it for two days and it's grown on me. Nothing here as frenetically energetic as on the LifeThis appears to be a grower. Well, I've owned it for two days and it's grown on me. Nothing here as frenetically energetic as on the Life Pursuit, an album which grew on me enough to become a second skin.
    But a duet with Norah Jones? If there is a low point on this record, it is sitting through 5 minutes of that painfully (in)sincere breathy delivery. Let's just hope legions of Jones completists pile in and buy this, ensuring B&S can avoid day jobs, pay their not insubstantial Scottish gas bills and produce another album at least as lovely as this.    … Full Review »
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