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Belle and Sebastian Write About Love

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Write About Love
Studio album by
Belle and Sebastian
Released11 October 2010 (2010-10-11)[1]
RecordedEarly/Mid 2010
StudioThe Sound Factory, Los Angeles, California
GenreIndie pop
Length43:15
LabelRough Trade
ProducerTony Hoffer
Belle and Sebastian chronology
The BBC Sessions
(2008) 		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]

Belle and Sebastian Write about Love (known informally as Write about Love) is the eighth studio album by indie pop group Belle and Sebastian, released on 11 October 2010. It was the second collaboration between the band and Tony Hoffer, who had produced their previous album, The Life Pursuit (2006).[14]

History

[edit]

The album was first referenced by the group 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. In a follow-up question, Stuart Murdoch confirmed that producer Tony Hoffer had returned to produce. The album's title was officially announced by Murdoch in a posting on the band's website on 11 August 2010,[15] and he revealed the album cover and release dates, as well as a clip of a planned Belle and Sebastian television show, on 16 August.[16]

Two tracks from the album were played by the band during their 2010 tour: "I Didn't See It Coming", a duet featuring Sarah Martin and Stuart Murdoch on vocals, and "I'm Not Living in the Real World", which features Stevie Jackson on lead 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] which was also included on Jones' compilation album ...Featuring Norah Jones, released one month after Write About Love.

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: "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). Of these songs, only "I Can See Your Future" ended up on the album, though "Blue Eyes of a Millionaire" and "Suicide Girl" were included as bonus tracks on some editions.

The title track was announced as the lead single from the album, and was also released as a free download from the band's website for a limited-time.[18] The single was released in the US iTunes Store on 7 September 2010, with a worldwide release on 25 September.[19] "I Want the World to Stop" topped Allaccess.com's "Impacting Songs" US radio chart on 5 October 2010.[20]

Commercial performance

[edit]

Its first week of release, the album entered the UK Albums Chart, where it peaked at number 8,[21] the band's highest placement on the chart (tied with The Life Pursuit and A Bit of Previous). Additionally, the album topped the UK Independent Albums chart,[22] and "I Didn't See It Coming" entered the UK Independent Singles chart at number 38.[23] The album reached number 21 in Ireland, the band's highest placement in that country until their next album. In the United States, Write About Love peaked at number 15 on the Billboard 200, the band's highest placement on the chart, while it entered the Italian albums chart at number 65, nine spots lower than The Life Pursuit, which had reached number 56.[24][25]

In 2011, the album was awarded a silver certification from the Independent Music Companies Association, indicating sales of at least 20,000 copies throughout Europe.[26] As of 2014, it has sold 68,199 copies in United States.[27]

Track listing

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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" 
Limited-edition bonus 7" single included with CD and LP purchases from Matador's web store
No.TitleLength
1."Last Trip" 
2."Suicide Girl" 

Personnel

[edit]
  • Norah Jones – vocals (5)
  • Carey Mulligan – vocals (6)
  • Mick Cooke – arranger
  • Sarah Martin – arranger (10)
  • 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[citation needed]
  • Eric Gorfain – violin, conductor (4, 6, 10)
  • Daphne Chen – violin (4, 6, 10)
  • Melissa Reiner – violin (4, 6, 10)
  • Amy Wickman – violin (4, 6, 10)
  • Wes Precourt – violin (4, 6, 10)
  • Lauren Chipman – viola (4, 6, 10)
  • Richard Dodd – cello (4, 6, 10)
  • Matt Cooker – cello (4, 6, 10)
  • John Krovoza – cello (4, 6, 10)
  • Noah Gladstone – trombone (4, 10)
  • Bruce Otto – bass trombone (4, 10)
  • Stephanie Stetson – French horn (10)
  • Danielle Ondarza – French horn (10)
  • Stephanie O'Keefe – French horn (10)

Charts

[edit]
Chart performance for Belle and Sebastian Write About Love
Chart (2010) Peak
position
Australian Albums (ARIA)[28] 74
Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria)[29] 40
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[30] 51
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia)[31] 77
Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)[32] 41
Finnish Albums (Suomen virallinen lista)[33] 30
French Albums (SNEP)[34] 54
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[35] 38
Irish Albums (IRMA)[36] 21
Italian Albums (FIMI)[37] 65
Mexican Albums (AMPROFON)[37] 78
Norwegian Albums (VG-lista)[38] 28
Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan)[39] 18
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[40] 37
UK Albums (OCC)[41] 8
UK Independent Albums (OCC)[42] 1
US Billboard 200[43] 15
US Independent Albums (Billboard)[44] 2

References

[edit]
  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[permanent dead link]
  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. ^ a b 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. ^ "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.
  25. ^ "FIMI – Federazione Industria Musicale Italiana – Classifiche". Fimi.it. 16 February 2006. Archived from the original on 29 April 2014. Retrieved 24 November 2010.
  26. ^ "Color". Impalamusic.org. Archived from the original on 11 September 2017. Retrieved 13 January 2022.
  27. ^ "September 17 & 23 releases". Universal Music Group. September 2014. p. 171. Retrieved 24 November 2019 – via Scribd.
  28. ^ Ryan, Gavin (2011). Australia's Music Charts 1988–2010 (PDF ed.). Mt Martha, Victoria, Australia: Moonlight Publishing. p. 28.
  29. ^ "Austriancharts.at – Belle and Sebastian – Write About Love" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved 26 June 2021.
  30. ^ "Ultratop.be – Belle and Sebastian – Write About Love" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 26 June 2021.
  31. ^ "Ultratop.be – Belle and Sebastian – Write About Love" (in French). Hung Medien. Retrieved 26 June 2021.
  32. ^ "Dutchcharts.nl – Belle and Sebastian – Write About Love" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 26 June 2021.
  33. ^ "Belle and Sebastian: Write About Love" (in Finnish). Musiikkituottajat – IFPI Finland. Retrieved 26 June 2021.
  34. ^ "Lescharts.com – Belle and Sebastian – Write About Love". Hung Medien. Retrieved 26 June 2021.
  35. ^ "Offiziellecharts.de – Belle and Sebastian – Write About Love" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved 26 June 2021.
  36. ^ "Irish-charts.com – Discography Belle and Sebastian". Hung Medien. Retrieved 26 June 2021.
  37. ^ a b "Italiancharts.com – Belle and Sebastian – Write About Love". Hung Medien. Retrieved 26 June 2021.
  38. ^ "Norwegiancharts.com – Belle and Sebastian – Write About Love". Hung Medien. Retrieved 26 June 2021.
  39. ^ "Swedishcharts.com – Belle and Sebastian – Write About Love". Hung Medien. Retrieved 26 June 2021.
  40. ^ "Swisscharts.com – Belle and Sebastian – Write About Love". Hung Medien. Retrieved 26 June 2021.
  41. ^ "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 26 June 2021.
  42. ^ "Official Independent Albums Chart Top 50". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 26 June 2021.
  43. ^ "Belle and Sebastian Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved 26 June 2021.
  44. ^ "Belle and Sebastian Chart History (Independent Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved 26 June 2021.
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