Day 0836 - If You're Feeling Sinister

Belle & Sebastian "If You're Feeling Sinister" (1996)

Nobody could accuse Belle and Sebastian of wasting time.  Their first album (see day 0815) was recorded in less than a week.  That release quickly led to them being courted by several record labels and they decided to go with indie label Jeepster.  The band felt that being on an indie would give them more creative control, and Jeepster were willing to accommodate the band's desire to not do any press or participate in promotional photographs or videos to support their releases.
The band then knocked this album out in about a week and released it the same year as their debut.

Sinister continues in a similar vein to the debut, with folky indie-pop.   Something about some of the tracks (maybe the mix of smooth trumpet and piano) brings Burt Bacharach to mind - high praise.   

I still have memories of disliking B&S a few years back, but it's entirely possible that it was just a bit of a knee-jerk reaction.   Indie-pop was a genre that seemed to annoy me at the time for some reason... or maybe they went downhill after the first couple of albums?  I guess I'll find out if any more pop up on the list.

Day 0474 - Kilimanjaro

The Teardrop Explodes "Kilimanjaro" (1980)

The book makes several comparisons between Teardrop Explodes and Love... I'd say there are some parallels with Love's "Forever Changes" album as far as the use of orchestral flourishes and building some of the songs from innocent, simple beginnings to lush crescendos.

The album is still of its time though, so has less of an acoustic folky bent like 'Forever Changes' and more of a post-punk (heading towards new-wave) sound. Definitely wouldn't mind another album from this band to show up on the list.