Jaunty

Ever imagine life suddenly bursting into a montage sequence? Maybe it's after deciding to go to cooking school, and after a beat, we cut to a too-cute parade of hijinx with your culinary buddies, playing with the steaming pasta, almost cutting off fingers while julienning vegetables, and finally almost dropping the serving plates in front of the the instructor's grim eyes. It's a testament to B&S's pop chops that this is just one of the movies my mind flies off into, even in the face of their usual lyrical bum-outs.

Belle & Sebastian - Jonathan David

Like fencing foils and lovely girls I'll never kiss

Prefab Sprout maintain their vice-like grip on my ears. I suspect this will continue as autumn digs in. Overly ornate flourishes aside, Steve McQueen is the jewel, but the debut certainly has its moments. This would be the tune you'd reference if you wanted to explain how a band could make like Steely Dan in the English '80s — counter-intuitive melodic turns that net a nice return on investment and lyrics that look askance on love, longing, and loss. Metaphors aside, I suspect Paddy McAloon always pretty much sucked at b-ball.

Prefab Sprout - I Never Play Basketball Now

Call you appetite

I'm not sure why I keep falling for songs that pair fancy chord changes and a general feyness. And I wish terms more interesting than "sophisticated pop" came to mind. This stuff totally disarms me, and yet, I find myself humming harmonies through a stone-faced frown, walking down the street, darting past human interruptions. I guess there's some irony in that. Seriously though, go find their Steve McQueen album. It'll make you like 1985 a whole lot more.

Prefab Sprout - Appetite

And because I can't get enough if it right now, here's a little bonus with some even fancier moves.