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Ryan previously mentioned mister Pelle Carlberg in context to Belle & Sebastian. I've actually never thought Carlberg sounded that much like B&S, but with this latest single "1983 (Pelle & Sebastian)", I am proven wrong.
Sure, the song is about Carlberg's youth and his run in with some hooligan, but if you look beyond that, you'll find that he really apes the B&S-style really well.
Let's take a look.
The Title
This is pretty obvious, the nod to Belle & Sebastian. The title and song refers back to Pelle and his friend Sebastian.
The band B&S have several songs about characters called Belle & Sebastian. For instance, what casual B&S fans might not know is that there is a hidden track on the 3.. 6.. 9.. Seconds of Light EP, I think, called "Songs for Children" about two singers, Belle & Sebastian ("Belle and Sebastian on the radio, playing songs for children"). Plus Murdoch wrote a song about a fictional "Belle & Sebastian" on their debut EP, Dogs on Wheel.
By the way, anyone can tell you that Belle & Sebastian's name comes from a French children's book and television show, Belle et Sébastien.
The Year
Nostalgic reference to a certain year. While Carlberg keeps referring back to 1983, Stuart Murdoch, the primary writer of Belle & Sebastian, has a habit of using references to years, like 1975 & 1995 in "The State I Am In", 1990 in "Electronic Renaissance", 1972 in "Me and the Major", 1982 in "She's Losing It", etc.
The Music
Feels like feels like early B&S (when they weren't so Christian), especially if you listen to Carlberg's singing style on this song. It is quite similar to Murdoch's Scottish folkiness. In fact, if you didn't know this was a Carlberg song, I'll bet you can fool people into thinking this is the latest single from Belle & Sebastian.
The Breakdown
There is a speaking part in this song, just half imagine Stuart David taking over this part, talking about the past. David is known for his speaking parts on such songs as "A Space Boy Dream" (the original version of this song is from his Looper project) and on "A Century of Elvis" (a song about David's dad and, er, Elvis).
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Really, what this comes down to is that "1983 (Pelle & Sebastian)" is a really good song. I kind of wish he hadn't made such a blatant tribute with the title "Pelle & Sebastian" as this would draw comparison between the two.
Look for Pelle Carberg's latest album, The Lilac Time out on August 27th on Labrador (Sweden) and Twenty-Seven Records (USA).
Here are previous songs from Carlberg.
Links: pellecarlberg.se myspace.com/pellecarlberg labrador.se twentysevenrecords.com
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