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The Boy With The Arab Strap was the third album from Scottish indie favourites Belle and Sebastian and with this album they further built on the bittersweet laments of their first two albums Tigermilk and If You're Feeling Sinister. The most significant difference here on this album is the decision to record a selection of songs with an orchestra, giving the album a very nice widescreen, cinematic feel to it. This was also the first album to feature songs from other band members, besides main-man Stuart Murdoch, giving Isobel Campbell and guitarist Stevie Jackson their chance to shine.

The album begins in much the same style as what featured on their previous albums. The opening song 'It Could Have Been a Brilliant Career' continues the tradition of Stuart Murdoch's poetic and literate song lyrics playing a major part in their music. The song loosely seems to deal with some unfortunate individuals and what would have become of them had they not suffered a crippling blow to their lives. The opening two lines "He had a stroke at the age of 24. It could have been a brilliant career" set the tone very nicely for this song. But as ever with Stuart Murdoch this song could have an entirely different meaning. Things take a turn for the slightly more upbeat with the delightful and memorable 'Sleep The Clock Around'. The song's gentle yet infectious melodies provided by Stuart and Isobel are backed nicely by some offbeat keyboard sounds and a driving drum-machine rhythm which gives the song a nice quirky edge. The brass toward the end of the song adds a nice dramatic conclusion. Following this is the gentle and breezy Isobel Campbell song 'Is It Wicked Not To Care', a simple yet effective number in which Isobel's soft vocals add a nice innocent charm to the song. The inclusion of other member's songs on this album, especially Isobel's contribution here, adds that extra dynamic and variety that Tigermilk and If You're Feeling Sinister didn't have. It feels like you're listening to a real collaborative effort, even though the relations within the band at the time were less than friendly. The next two songs 'Ease Your Feet In The Sea' and 'A Summer Wasting' sit remarkably well alongside each other and although both are relatively simple Belle and Sebastian songs, some nice touches of strings add some extra character and spice to them. 'A Summer Wasting' captures the feeling of the freedom and boredom of summer holidays off school or university very nicely with lyrics such as "I spent the summer wasting. The time was passed so pleasantly". The sad and gorgeous opening chords of Stevie Jackson's 'Seymour Stein' invoke a very melancholic and nostalgic feeling. It's the type of song that could sound so well while watching reels of old Super 8 footage or soundtracking some bittersweet, coming of age movie. The cinematic feel of this song is heightened by the beautifully bittersweet ending where insistent keyboard lines and wandering guitar lines play out to the sound of an airplane taking off. A very moving moment in the album.

The album is broken up nicely by 'A Space Boy Dream', a fascinating product of Stuart Murdoch's imagination. This spoken word tale, over some nice sleepy instrumentation, tells of a dream he had where he was travelling to Mars along with his father and his sister. While listening to this track you can picture everything perfectly in your own head, it's almost like Stuart is painting a picture in your mind. Some great touches of organ and wah-wah guitar add a nice funky dynamic towards the end of the track. One of the highlights of the album for me is the fantastic 'Dirty Dream Number Two'. The opening lyrics "I'm lucky, I can open the door and I can walk down the street. Unlucky, I've got nowhere to go and so I follow my feet" resound remarkably well with myself. There is this sense of freedom and boredom that appeals to me somewhat. These lyrics set us up for an unforgettable and breathtakingly melodic song, backed superbly by a string section and is undoubtedly one of their finest moments. The momentum continues with the title-track 'The Boy With The Arab Strap', one of their most well-known songs. This is a sprightly, infectious and delightfully upbeat song and contains the unforgettable line "Colour my life with the chaos of trouble", as referenced in the film 300 Days Of Summer. The transition from this song to the next song 'Chickfactor' works remarkably well. The fade-out of 'The Boy With The Arab Strap' ties in beautifully with the melancholic-sounding piano chords of the intro to Stevie Jackson's 'Chickfactor'. Like his other song on the album 'Seymour Stein' this also carries a similar sense of nostalgia and cinematic beauty. The string melodies and piano form one sweeping and beautiful entity and back up Stevies retrained vocals perfectly. The short and sweet 'Simple Things' adds some dynamic towards the end of the album, with Stuart Murdoch's soaring melodic vocals and chiming guitar setting us up for the finale. The slow-burning closing track 'The Rollercoaster Ride' is probably the finest song the band have ever produced. This is Belle and Sebastian at their most bittersweet and widescreen, it really brings the album to a remarkable conclusion and sums up the album perfectly. You could spend ages reading into the lyrics of this song trying to decipher their true meaning or at least try to form your own interpretation of them, "Hey people, looking out the window at the city below. Hey people, looking out the window, you'll be gone tomorrow". The song builds to a beautifully cinematic conclusion with piano and brass, and leaves you feeling rather satisfied indeed. You might even want to hit the back button and listen to the song again.

For me this album was Belle and Sebastian phase one at the height of their powers. The inter-band relationships that were becoming strained during the recording of this album would have some degree of effect on the recording of the next album Fold Your Hands Child, You Walk Like A Peasant, a dark, sad and brutally honest follow-up. Although the band went on to record two brilliant albums in the 2000's, Dear Catastrophe Waitress and The Life Pursuit, this is the Belle and Sebastian that I love best and is one of the most cherished albums in my music collection.

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