Indie pop icons Belle and Sebastian overwhelmed NPR’s Tiny Desk with a whimsical nine-person performance of songs from their new album, A Bit of Previous.
The set opened with “Unnecessary Drama,” which we had previously named Song of the Week, and which includes the chorus, “This is my life/ This is my so-called life.” Afterwards, band leader Stuart Murdoch addressed the lyrics.
“Do you remember a show called My So-Called Life?” he asked the crowd, referencing the 1994 teen drama. “Yeah, I never watched it. Isn’t it weird that it’s, like, 2020 and we’ve written a song with that in the chorus? It would have been predictable back then. We’re unpredictable. So, Belle and Sebastian, we finally made it to the ’90s with that song.”
He then introduced “Working Boy in New York City,” by saying, “It used to be called ‘Working Boy in Washington DC,’ [but] it didn’t scan,” much to the delight of the DC audience. Afterwards, Belle and Sebastian moved on to “Reclaim the Night,” before closing with “Judy and the Dream of Horses” from their 1996 album, If You’re Feeling Sinister. Check out the performance below.
In May, band member Sarah Martin spoke to Consequence about their 11th studio album, A Bit of Previous. The group is currently on tour, and tickets are available here.