Leele Belle

The long stretches between albums that had become standard for indie pop heroes Belle and Sebastian made their 11th studio LP, Late Developers, even more of a surprise, as it was released without much lead-up just eight months after 2022's A Bit of Previous. Recorded during the same self-produced sessions, Late Developers feels like a companion piece to its predecessor, reaching just as inspired heights and continuing the band's inspection of aging and existential dread that always comes wrapped in soft, reassuring melodies. These songs also flit playfully between styles and delivery, turning in more of the band's Motown-fixated sunshine soul on tracks like the swaying "The Evening Star" or "Give a Little Time," which finds them sneaking in another of their long-term musical fascinations with some very subtle Thin Lizzy-style lead guitar harmonies.

Funky soul backbeats, irresistible grooves, timeless electronic elements, angelic harmonies and that perfect voice delivering emotional lyrics with absolute sincerity: it can only be Beady Belle. 'Nothing But the Truth' is not only an album consolidating Beady's work, from 'Home' to the present, but a clear indicator that her restless musical spirit is only intensifying its searches and an exciting future is already arriving. The album marks the 20th anniversary of a career that has been defined by quality, reinvention, and innovation, filled with memorable songs of diverse moods, styles and motivations, all unified by one of the most cherished voices to come out of the seemingly infinite Norwegian music scene.

Agua Y Fuego is a new album of Belle Perez, released February 19, 2016 on Universal Music Belgium. Born to Spanish parents in Belgium, Belle Perez (originally Maria Isabelle Perez) began her musical career in 1999, as a straightforward pop star attempting to get into the Eurovision competition and singing largely in English. After two Top 20 albums released in that same English pop format, Perez moved to a Latin pop format with 2002's Baila Perez album, taking on a sound not unlike Gloria Estefan's Miami Sound Machine. High energy Latin dance music (but with a slight European twist) became the order of the day for Perez and provided her the top slot on the Belgian charts as well as a Top 20 position in the Dutch charts as she began to branch out internationally.

A Bit of Previous is the tenth studio album by Belle and Sebastian and their first full-length in seven years. This may be surprising to anyone following the recent life pursuits of the Glasgow 7-piece: a trilogy of EPs; a soundtrack for the directorial debut of The Inbetweeners’ Simon Bird; The Boaty Weekender – a 3000 capacity star-studded four-day music festival on a cruise liner sailing the Mediterranean; a live album showcasing the band’s present-day iteration as savvy main stage entertainers; and in 2020 a collaborative project with fans called ‘Protecting The Hive’. But in all these idiosyncratic endeavours, as intrinsic to the band’s DNA as the stage invasion at the end of each of their shows, a full-length has eluded us.