If You're Feeling Sinister

''If You're Feeling Sinister'' is the second album by the Scottish indie pop band Belle and Sebastian. It was released in 1996 on Jeepster Records in the United Kingdom and in 1997 by Matador Records in the United States. It is often ranked among the best albums of the 1990s.

Band leader Stuart Murdoch said ''If You're Feeling Sinister'' is probably his best collection of songs. In 2005, Belle and Sebastian released a live version, '' If You're Feeling Sinister: Live at the Barbican.''

Recording and production

After the release of their debut album ''Tigermilk'', Belle and Sebastian were approached by a number of record labels. They signed with the independent label Jeepster Records in the interests of staying independent creatively. Jeepster was willing to accept some of the group's other demands, such as releasing no singles, not doing press or promotional events, and not appearing in promotional materials.

The band began releasing the new material, written by Murdoch, after signing with Jeepster. The album took five days to record and three to mix, slightly longer than ''Tigermilk''. It was recorded in the same studio as ''Tigermilk'' and engineer Tony Doogan worked with the band's previous engineer to maintain a similar recording style. Band member Sarah Martin, who had recently joined the band at this point, likened ''Tigermilk'' and ''If You're Feeling Sinister'' to The Beatles' albums ''Rubber Soul'' and ''Revolver'' in the sense that the two albums were recorded quickly after one another.

The cover photo was taken by Murdoch of his friend, Ciara MacLaverty; like Murdoch, MacLaverty suffered from chronic fatigue syndrome. It features a copy of The Trial by Franz Kafka.

Critical reception

''If You're Feeling Sinister'' received critical acclaim. ''Pitchfork'' placed it at number 14 in its top 100 albums of the 1990s. Later, the readers of ''Pitchfork'' voted the album the 31st greatest album released between 1996 and 2011. ''Rolling Stone'' featured the album at number 75 on its list of "100 Best Albums of the Nineties," while ''Spin'' included the record at number 59 on its "125 Best Albums of the Past 25 Years" list. ''If You're Feeling Sinister'' also appears as an entry in the book ''1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die'' as chosen by music critics. The album was placed at number 8 on ''The Village Voice''s Pazz & Jop annual critics' poll for 1997. The album was ranked No. 481 of the Top 500 Albums of All Time by ''Rolling Stone'' in 2020.

In 2007, as part of the ''33⅓'' series, Scott Plagenhoef wrote a book about the album.

In February 2013, Pitchfork.tv released an hour-long documentary about the album directed by RJ Bentler. For the documentary, every band member who played on the album was interviewed. It featured archive photographs and videos from the band's early days.

Reflecting on it 20 years on, ''Stereogum''s Tom Breihan claimed that ''Sinister'' could be "''too'' influential", despite it taking "a long time for he band'sinfluence to spread." In time, their impact would "fully sink into the bloodstream of the indie rock world." He saw the band's timidity taken, "Americanized", and introduced to a new audience in US college kids by American band Death Cab for Cutie. He also credited them with impacting the development of "sensitive and proudly bookish" indie stars like the Decemberists and Sufjan Stevens. Other groups that critics have noted ''Sinister'' inspiring include Alvvays, Hovvdy, Kings of Convenience, and the Shins.

Track listing

Personnel

* Stuart Murdoch – lead vocals, guitar, piano
*Stuart David – bass
*Isobel Campbell – cello, vocals, percussion, recorder
*Chris Geddes – keyboards, piano
*Richard Colburn – drums
*Stevie Jackson – guitar, vocals, harmonica
*Sarah Martin – violin, recorder, percussion
*Mick Cooke – trumpet (1, 6, 10)

Charts

References

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1996 albums
Albums produced by Tony Doogan
Belle and Sebastian albums
Jeepster Records albums
Chamber pop albums