Belle and Sebastian release another on M

"Lazy Line Painter Jane" is not a new Belle and Sebastian album. Rather, it is a collection of three previously released E.P.s not available in the United States: "Dog on Wheels," "3..6..9 Seconds of Light," and "Lazy Line Painter Jane." So the question seems to be, why are the songs not compiled onto one album?

The answer is that the songs recorded for each EP follow a certain theme, musically or lyrically. None of the songs vary much from the band's typical literary telling of adolescent introspection and sorrowful music. Yet, as fans of the band know, each B&S full length release seems to capture a mood that in some way seems inextricably linked to the ink Polaroid cover art. To combine the E.P.s on one album would be to mix moods that stand better on their own.

The eight piece Glasgow band led by Stuart Murdoch has been recording what can best be described as tired and sad songs for private school kids on dark summer days since 1995. A musical combination of simple sixties melodies and a full bodied sound complete with violin and trumpet and a lyric style that sounds exhaustingly sad and resigned.

Lyrically, Belle and Sebastian have produced the most poetic songs in years thanks to the talents of Murdoch and bassist Stuart David, who is also a published novelist. The songs tell the tales, often absurd, of tortured souls in realistic situations. For example, the protagonist in "Dog on Wheels" is deserted by a lover and is left with a toy mentioned as his only friend. The song, and this E.P. in particular, happily sounds like it was recorded on thirty-year-old equipment.

"Lazy Line Painter Jane" is a more upbeat group of songs. The title track, featuring guest vocalist Monica Queen, is perhaps the band's most cheerful song to date. Queen's vocals sound like they come from decades earlier, but then again so does the whole band. "You Made me Forget my Dreams" is an inversion of the classic love tale of love being a solution for a troubled mind. Here, it only furthers the problem.

The final disc, "3..6..9," contains "A Century of Fakers," which is told from the perspective of a young adult feeling tired and helpless as he sees everyone turned into "another century of fakers." It is perhaps the best picture of the band, which has avoided the media by sending non-band members to photo shoots and performing at nontraditional venues like churches and houses.