Belle and Sebastian Write About Love

Belle and Sebastian Write about Love (also known informally as Write about Love) is the eighth studio album by indie-pop group Belle and Sebastian released on 11 October 2010. The album is the second collaboration between Belle and Sebastian and Tony Hoffer, who produced their previous album, The Life Pursuit.[14]

Belle and Sebastian Write about Love
Studio album by
Belle and Sebastian
Released11 October 2010 (2010-10-11)[1]
RecordedEarly/Mid 2010
(Los Angeles, California)
GenreIndie pop
Length43:15
LabelRough Trade
ProducerTony Hoffer
Belle and Sebastian chronology
The BBC Sessions
(2008)		 Belle and Sebastian Write about Love
(2010)		 The Third Eye Centre
(2013)
Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
AnyDecentMusic?7.1/10[2]
Metacritic75/100[3]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[4]
The A.V. ClubB[5]
Chicago Tribune[6]
The Guardian[7]
Mojo[8]
NME6/10[9]
Pitchfork8.2/10[10]
Q[11]
Rolling Stone[12]
Spin7/10[13]

History

Belle and Sebastian Write about Love was initially revealed by Belle & Sebastian in early 2010 when they mentioned in the Q&A section of their official website that they had recently visited Los Angeles, California to record the tracks for the album. In a follow-up question, Stuart Murdoch confirmed that producer Tony Hoffer had returned for this album. The album's title was officially announced by Murdoch in a posting on Belle & Sebastian's website on 11 August 2010.[15] On 16 August 2010, Murdoch announced the album cover, release dates, as well as a clip of a planned Belle & Sebastian television show.[16]

Two tracks from the album were played by the band during their 2010 tour. "I Didn't See It Coming" is a duet featuring Stuart Murdoch and Sarah Martin, while "I'm Not Living in the Real World" features Stevie Jackson primarily on vocals. On 16 August 2010, another track was announced, titled "I Want the World to Stop".[16] Norah Jones is featured on the track "Little Lou, Ugly Jack, Prophet John".[17] The song also features on Jones' compilation album ... Featuring Norah Jones, released one month after Write About Love in November 2010.

On 3 September 2010, the names of five new songs set to feature on the album were shown during the credits of the promotional "Belle and Sebastian TV" programme. These are "Blue Eyes of a Millionaire", "Suicide Girl" and "I Can See Your Future" (all credited to the group), as well as "The Telephone Song" and "If I Can't Help Myself" (both credited to guitarist Stevie Jackson).

The title track, "Write About Love", was announced as the lead single from the album and was also released as a free, limited-time download from Belle & Sebastian's website.[18] The single was released in the US iTunes Store on 7 September 2010, with a worldwide release on 25 September 2010.[19] "I Want the World to Stop" impacted US radio on 5 October 2010.[20]

Track listing

All tracks are written by Belle & Sebastian.

No.TitleLength
1."I Didn't See It Coming" (Sarah Martin on lead vocals)5:02
2."Come on Sister"3:53
3."Calculating Bimbo"4:21
4."I Want the World to Stop"4:33
5."Little Lou, Ugly Jack, Prophet John" (featuring Norah Jones)4:33
6."Write About Love" (featuring Carey Mulligan)2:53
7."I'm Not Living in the Real World" (Stevie Jackson on lead vocals)3:09
8."The Ghost of Rockschool"4:34
9."Read the Blessed Pages"2:43
10."I Can See Your Future" (Sarah Martin on lead vocals)3:50
11."Sunday's Pretty Icons"3:44
Download-only Bonus Track
No.TitleLength
12."Blue Eyes of a Millionaire" 
On limited-edition bonus 7" single that came with CD and LP purchases from Matador's web store
No.TitleLength
12."Last Trip" 
13."Suicide Girl" 

Personnel
  • Norah Jones – vocals on "Little Lou, Ugly Jack, Prophet John"
  • Carey Mulligan – vocals on "Write About Love"
  • Mick Cooke – arranger
  • Sarah Martin – arranger on "I Can See Your Future"
  • Tony Hoffer – producer, mixing, programming
  • Todd Burke – engineer
  • Cameron Lister – assistant engineer
  • Frank Arkwright – mastering
  • Stuart Murdoch – vocals, liner notes, photography
  • Marisa Privitera – assistant
  • Seth Mitchell – guest guitar on "I Want the World to Stop", "Write About Love", "I Can See Your Future"
  • Eric Gorfain – violin, conductor
  • Daphne Chen – violin
  • Melissa Reiner – violin
  • Amy Wickman – violin
  • Wes Precourt – violin
  • Lauren Chipman – viola
  • Richard Dodd – cello
  • Matt Cooker – cello
  • John Krovoza – cello on "I Want the World to Stop", "I Can See Your Future"
  • Noah Gladstone – trombone
  • Bruce Otto – bass trombone on "I Can See Your Future"
  • Stephanie Stetson – French horn
  • Danielle Ondarza – French horn
  • Stephanie O'Keefe – French horn

Chart positions

Belle & Sebastian Write About Love entered the UK albums chart in its first week of release, peaking at No. 8 as of 19 October 2010.[21] This marks their highest chart placement yet, tied with their previous studio album The Life Pursuit. The album has also risen to No. 21 in Ireland, becoming their highest charting album in that country. It has also topped the UK independent album chart.[22] Additionally, the opening track I Didn't See It Coming entered the UK independent singles chart at No. 38.[23] In the United States the album peaked at No. 15, their highest chart placement there.[24] The album entered the Italian Album Chart at No. 65, just a step backwards compared to the previous The Life Pursuit which reached No. 56 in 2006.[25][26]

In 2011 it was awarded a silver certification from the Independent Music Companies Association which indicated sales of at least 20,000 copies throughout Europe.[27] As of 2014, the album has sold 68,199 copies in United States.[28]

Chart Peak
European Top 100 Albums[29] 43
German Albums Chart[30] 38
Canadian Albums Chart 23
United Kingdom Top 100 8
United Kingdom Independent Chart 1
Ireland 21
Sweden 18
Netherlands 41[31]
Australia 74
United States 15
Italy 65[32]
France 54[32]

References
  1. "Belle and Sebastian announce release date, real album cover and tv show", Pitchfork, 16 August 2010, archived from the original on 19 August 2010, retrieved 16 August 2010
  2. "Write About Love by Belle And Sebastian reviews". AnyDecentMusic?. Retrieved 20 December 2019.
  3. "Reviews for Belle and Sebastian Write About Love by Belle and Sebastian". Metacritic. Retrieved 26 June 2019.
  4. Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "Write About Love – Belle and Sebastian". AllMusic. Retrieved 13 October 2010.
  5. Phipps, Keith (12 October 2010). "Belle And Sebastian: Write About Love". The A.V. Club. Retrieved 13 October 2010.
  6. Kot, Greg (11 October 2010). "Album review: Belle and Sebastian, 'Write About Love'". Chicago Tribune. Archived from the original on 15 October 2010. Retrieved 5 June 2016.
  7. Costa, Maddy (7 October 2010). "Belle and Sebastian: Write About Love – review". The Guardian. Retrieved 5 June 2016.
  8. "Belle and Sebastian: Belle and Sebastian Write About Love". Mojo (204): 108. November 2010.
  9. Dosanjh, Ash (8 October 2010). "Album review: Belle & Sebastian – Write About Love (Rough Trade)". NME. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 13 October 2010.
  10. Wolk, Douglas (11 October 2010). "Belle and Sebastian: Write About Love". Pitchfork. Archived from the original on 13 November 2010. Retrieved 17 November 2010.
  11. "Belle and Sebastian: Belle and Sebastian Write About Love". Q (292): 114. November 2010.
  12. Dolan, Jon (18 October 2010). "Belle and Sebastian Write About Love". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 5 June 2016.
  13. Modell, Josh (1 October 2010). "Belle and Sebastian, 'Write About Love' (Matador)". Spin. Archived from the original on 17 June 2011. Retrieved 1 October 2010.
  14. Murdoch, Stuart (16 August 2010), Belle and Sebastian: Q&A (Search results for Hoffer), Belle and Sebastian, retrieved 16 August 2010
  15. Murdoch, Stuart (11 August 2010), A Note From Stuart, Belle and Sebastian, archived from the original on 16 August 2010, retrieved 16 August 2010
  16. Murdoch, Stuart (16 August 2010), Belle and Sebastian Write About Love, Belle and Sebastian, archived from the original on 18 August 2010, retrieved 16 August 2010
  17. Yentch, Katrina (19 August 2010), Norah Jones to sing on new Belle and Sebastian album, Under the Radar, archived from the original on 22 August 2010, retrieved 4 September 2010/
  18. Murdoch, Stuart (7 September 2010), Belle and Sebastian Write About Love – album details and mp3, Belle and Sebastian, archived from the original on 10 September 2010, retrieved 7 August 2010
  19. Murdoch, Stuart (3 September 2010), Be First To Hear Write About Love, Belle and Sebastian, archived from the original on 6 September 2010, retrieved 3 September 2010
  20. "AllAccess.com Alternative eWeekly". AllAccess. 28 September 2010. Retrieved 2 July 2016.
  21. "Archive Chart". Official Charts Company. 23 October 2010. Retrieved 24 November 2010.
  22. "Archive Chart". Official Charts Company. 23 October 2010. Retrieved 24 November 2010.
  23. "Archive Chart". Official Charts Company. 23 October 2010. Retrieved 24 November 2010.
  24. https://www.billboard.com/music/belle-%26-sebastian/chart-history/
  25. "An article on the Belle and Sebastian Fan Site". belleandsebastian.it. 16 February 2006. Archived from the original on 22 July 2011. Retrieved 24 November 2010.
  26. "FIMI – Federazione Industria Musicale Italiana – Classifiche". Fimi.it. 16 February 2006. Archived from the original on 29 April 2014. Retrieved 24 November 2010.
  27. http://www.impalamusic.org/arc_static/docum/04-press/2009/PR%20-%2020110331.htm
  28. "September 17 & 23 releases". Universal Music Group. September 2014. p. 171. Retrieved 24 November 2019 – via Scribd.
  29. https://www.billboard.com/#/charts/european-albums?begin=31&order=position
  30. ":: MTV | Album Top 50 KW 46 | charts". Mtv.de. 19 November 2010. Archived from the original on 30 December 2010. Retrieved 24 November 2010.
  31. Steffen Hung. "Belle And Sebastian – Write About Love". finnishcharts.com. Retrieved 24 November 2010.
  32. "FIMI – Federazione Industria Musicale Italiana – Classifiche". Fimi.it. 14 November 2010. Archived from the original on 11 May 2011. Retrieved 24 November 2010.
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