Belle and Sebastian — Days of the Bagnold Summer (Sept. 13, 2019) •★    Days of the Bagnold Summer began life as a 2012 award~winning graphic novel by Joff Winterhart, was turned into a feature film and the directorial debut of Simon Bird (The Inbetweeners, Friday Night Dinner), and is now a wonderful, rich, bittersweet, and warmly welcoming original soundtrack album by Belle and Sebastian, on Matador Records.
•★    The album features eleven brand new Belle and Sebastian songs, as well as re~recorded versions of classics Get Me Away From Here I’m Dying, originally appearing on 1996’s If You’re Feeling Sinister, and I Know Where The Summer Goes, from 1998’s This Is Just a Modern Rock Song EP.
Location: Glasgow, Scotland
Genre: Indie Pop, Indie Rock
Styles: Alternative~Chamber Pop, Alternative Singer~Songwriter, Twee Pop, Alt. Pop/Rock
Album release: Sept. 13, 2019
Record Label: Matador Records
Duration:     21:02+21:54 => 42:56
Tracks:
A1  Sister Buddha (Intro)   3:04
ζ→   Recorded, Mixed — Kevin Burleigh
A2  I Know Where The Summer Goes   4:23
ζ→   Cello — Sarah Willson
ζ→   French Horn — Mick Cooke
ζ→   Mixed — Kevin Burleigh
ζ→   Recorded — Brian McNeill
ζ→   Recorded [Additional] — Kevin Burleigh
A3  Did The Day Go Just Like You Wanted?   3:08
ζ→   Arranged [Musical] — Mick Cooke
ζ→   Cello — Sarah Willson
ζ→   Recorded, Mixed — Kevin Burleigh
ζ→   Trumpet — Mick Cooke
ζ→   Viola — Liam Lynch
ζ→   Violin — Gillian Risi, Ysla Pinto
A4  Jill Pole   3:03
ζ→   Arranged [Musical] — Mick Cooke
ζ→   Cello — Sarah Willson
ζ→   Electric Guitar, Synth — Mick Cooke
ζ→   Mixed — Kevin Burleigh
ζ→   Recorded — Brian McNeill
ζ→   Recorded [Additional] — Kevin Burleigh
ζ→   Viola — Liam Lynch
ζ→   Violin — Gillian Risi, Ysla Pinto
A5  I’ll Keep It Inside   1:59
ζ→   Recorded, Mixed — Kevin Burleigh
A6  Safety Valve   2:57
ζ→   Recorded, Mixed — Kevin Burleigh
A7   The Colour’s Gonna Run   2:28
ζ→   Recorded, Mixed — Kevin Burleigh
B1   Another Day, Another Night   1:31
ζ→   Recorded, Mixed — Kevin Burleigh
B2   Get Me Away From Here I’m Dying   3:58
ζ→   Recorded, Mixed — Kevin Burleigh
ζ→   Trumpet — Mick Cooke
B3   Wait And See What The Day Holds   3:19
ζ→   Recorded, Mixed — Kevin Burleigh
B4   Sister Buddha   4:08
ζ→   Arranged [Musical] — Mick Cooke
ζ→   Mixed — Tony Doogan
ζ→   Recorded — Brian McNeill
ζ→   Recorded [Additional] — Kevin Burleigh
ζ→   Trumpet — Mick Cooke
B5   This Letter   3:25
ζ→   Recorded, Mixed — Kevin Burleigh
ζ→   Trumpet — Mick Cooke
B6   We Were Never Glorious   5:23
ζ→   Arranged [Musical] — Mick Cooke
ζ→   Cello — Sarah Willson
ζ→   Recorded, Mixed — Kevin Burleigh
ζ→   Viola — Liam Lynch
ζ→   Violin — Gillian Risi, Ysla Pinto
Sociétés, etc.:
ζ→   Optimal Media GmbH: Pressed
ζ→   Banchory Studio, Glasgow: Recorded
ζ→   Gorbals Sound: Recorded
ζ→   Castle Of Doom Studios: Mixed
ζ→   Gorbals Sound: Mixed
ζ→   Abbey Road Studios: Mastered
ζ→   Optimal Media GmbH: Lacquer Cut
ζ→   D8: Designed
Crédits:
ζ→   Emma Durnan: Design
ζ→   HL: Lacquer Cut
ζ→   Frank Arkwright: Mastered
ζ→   Rob Baker Ashton, Sam Windett: Photography
Members:
•★   Richard Colburn
•★   Mick Cooke
•★   Chris Geddes
•★   Stevie Jackson
•★   Bob Kildea
•★   Sarah Martin
•★   Stuart Murdoch
Past Members:
•★   Isobel Campbell
•★   Stuart David
by Ljubinko Zivkovic. Rating: 9
★•    Most of the things you can say or write about Belle & Sebastian are probably going to be wrong, except one thing for sure — they were and still are one of the best musical projects around. That includes any form of modern music you can imagine, because they have probably done it all, rarely at any moment dropping bellow their level of excellence. And those rare moments you can probably count on less than one set of your fingers.
★•    No exception with their latest release, Days of the Bagnold Summer. And why does the B&S excellence show again? It’s like this — the album is a soundtrack to a film based on a graphic novel by Joff Winterhart, which was turned into a feature film and the directorial debut of Simon Bird (The Inbetweeners, Friday Night Dinner). Sounds quite a simple task, doesn’t it?
★•    Actually, it is usually one of the hardest, particularly for the artists that usually are not specifically writing soundtrack music — you have to follow the music of the images they are supposed to accompany, mostly instrumental and then, you eventually have to turn it into a self~standing music album that has to have its own head and tail. Add to that a fact that Belle & Sebastian are not exactly an instrumental band, but one whose voices and lyrics are one, if not their main features.
★•    But Stuart Murdoch and all the musicians involved this time around, like most of the time in their opus so far, resolve the problems admirably, as usual. Without seeing the film it is not possible to comment on how their music fits the screen images, but B&S are able to present both instrumental and vocal compositions in the best possible manner that is actually expected of them.
★•    Whether it is the instrumental sequences, the old and new songs Murdoch and co. present here, it is Belle & Sebastian at its best — seemingly easy~going music, that is at the same time complex and engaging and where Murdoch doesn’t leave his lyrical aplomb elsewhere:
★•    “I know where the summer goes
When you’re having no fun
When you’re under the thumb
I know where the summer dwells
When your underarm smells
And your kitchen looks like hell”  (“I Know Where The Summer Goes”)
★•    If any of the long~time fans felt a little let down by their recent funk and soul explorations (don’t know why, but anyway), Days of The Bagnold Summer will feel like staple Belle & Sebastian.
★•  https://soundblab.com/ 
Website: https://belleandsebastian.com/