Tigermilk

Description

Originally released in an edition of 1,000 vinyl LPs as part of a college music business course, Belle & Sebastians 1996 debut TIGERMILK rapidly became a highly sought-after collectors item. Reissued in 1999 to combat a flood of expensive bootlegs, the album shows that the bands later acclaim was not unfounded. Nine of the 10 tracks feature main songwriter Stuart Murdochs winsome vocals, a mix of acoustic and electric instrumentation and a grab-bag of pianos, horns, flutes, and hand claps. The odd one out of the bunch is Electronic Renaissance, an electronic keyboard knockabout that recalls Depeche Modes more insistent moments from the Vince Clarke era. Standouts among the other tracks are Expectations, the tale of a square peg at school who is known for being strange/Making life-size models of the Velvet Underground in clay, the lyrically wistful but musically charged Shes Losing It, and I Dont Love Anyone, which references Felt, a band Belle & Sebastian cites among its influences.