The Life Pursuit
Studio album by
Belle and Sebastian
Released6 February 2006
Recorded2005
StudioThe Sound Factory, Los Angeles, CA
Genre
Length49:21
LabelRough Trade
ProducerTony Hoffer
Belle and Sebastian chronology
If You're Feeling Sinister: Live at the Barbican
(2005)		 The Life Pursuit
(2006)		 The BBC Sessions
(2008)

The Life Pursuit is the seventh studio album by Scottish indie pop band Belle & Sebastian. It was released in Europe on 6 February 2006 by Rough Trade Records and in North America on 7 February 2006 by Matador Records.

The models on the album cover are Alex Klobouk, Natasha Noramly, and Marisa Privitera.[2]

Release and reception

Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Metacritic78/100[3]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[4]
The A.V. ClubA−[5]
Entertainment WeeklyA−[6]
The Guardian[7]
Mojo[8]
NME8/10[9]
Pitchfork8.5/10[10]
Rolling Stone[11]
SpinB[12]
Uncut[13]

The album earned the band its most successful chart performance yet, reaching #8 in the UK Album Chart and #65 on the Billboard 200 in the United States, selling 20,485 units in the first week. The Life Pursuit has been certified Silver in the UK. Lead single "Funny Little Frog" reached the top 20 of the UK Single Charts in January 2006, becoming the band's highest charting to date. "The Blues Are Still Blue" was released as the second single in April of that same year managing to peak inside the top 40. "White Collar Boy" was released as the last single in June peaking inside the top 50 of the same chart. "We Are the Sleepyheads" was used in MTV2 adverts and "To Be Myself Completely" was featured in MLB 2K6. In 2009, Pitchfork named the album the 86th greatest of the 2000s.[14]

The Life Pursuit has sold 112,000 units in US.[15]

Track listing

All tracks are written by Belle & Sebastian

No.TitleLength
1."Act of the Apostle"2:55
2."Another Sunny Day"4:04
3."White Collar Boy"3:20
4."The Blues Are Still Blue"4:08
5."Dress Up in You"4:23
6."Sukie in the Graveyard"3:00
7."We Are the Sleepyheads"3:33
8."Song for Sunshine"4:06
9."Funny Little Frog"3:08
10."To Be Myself Completely"3:17
11."Act of the Apostle II"4:20
12."For the Price of a Cup of Tea"3:19
13."Mornington Crescent"5:40
iTunes bonus tracks
No.TitleLength
14."Blue Eyes of a Millionaire"4:25
15."I Took a Long Hard Look"3:36

Charts

Chart performance for The Life Pursuit
Chart (2006) Peak
position
Australian Albums (ARIA)[16] 45
Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria)[17] 56
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[18] 41
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia)[19] 86
Canadian Albums (Billboard)[20] 47
Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)[21] 32
Finnish Albums (Suomen virallinen lista)[22] 25
French Albums (SNEP)[23] 72
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[24] 35
Irish Albums (IRMA)[25] 23
Italian Albums (FIMI)[26] 56
Norwegian Albums (VG-lista)[27] 16
Spanish Albums (PROMUSICAE)[28] 46
Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan)[29] 20
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[30] 56
UK Albums (OCC)[31] 8
US Billboard 200[32] 65
US Independent Albums (Billboard)[33] 3

References

  1. 1 2 3 Pitchfork Staff (2 October 2009). "The 200 Best Albums of the 2000s". Pitchfork. Retrieved 28 April 2023. Belle and Sebastian had been toying with R&B, glam, and funk for much of their existence, but by the time the group recorded The Life Pursuit, their musical chops had finally caught up with the quality and ambition of Stuart Murdoch's songwriting.
  2. ↑ http://www.belleandsebastian.com/recordings/the-life-pursuit
  3. ↑ "Reviews for The Life Pursuit by Belle and Sebastian". Metacritic. Retrieved 26 June 2019.
  4. ↑ Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "The Life Pursuit – Belle and Sebastian". AllMusic. Retrieved 27 February 2016.
  5. ↑ Phipps, Keith (8 February 2006). "Belle And Sebastian: The Life Pursuit". The A.V. Club. Retrieved 27 February 2016.
  6. ↑ Greenblatt, Leah (6 February 2006). "The Life Pursuit". Entertainment Weekly. Archived from the original on 13 April 2016. Retrieved 27 February 2016.
  7. ↑ Petridis, Alexis (3 February 2006). "Belle and Sebastian, The Life Pursuit". The Guardian. Retrieved 27 February 2016.
  8. ↑ "Belle & Sebastian: The Life Pursuit". Mojo (148): 92. February 2006.
  9. ↑ Snodgrass, James (27 January 2006). "Belle & Sebastian: The Life Pursuit". NME. Archived from the original on 3 March 2016. Retrieved 27 February 2016.
  10. ↑ Hogan, Marc (5 February 2006). "Belle And Sebastian: The Life Pursuit". Pitchfork. Retrieved 27 February 2016.
  11. ↑ Ringen, Jonathan (7 February 2006). "The Life Pursuit". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 27 February 2016.
  12. ↑ Harris, Keith (February 2006). "Belle and Sebastian: The Life Pursuit". Spin. 22 (2): 86. Retrieved 27 February 2016.
  13. ↑ "Belle & Sebastian: The Life Pursuit". Uncut (106): 91. March 2006.
  14. ↑ "The 200 Best Albums of the 2000s - Page 2". Pitchfork.
  15. ↑ Plagenhoef, Scott (15 September 2007). Belle & Sebastian's if You're Feeling Sinister. Bloomsbury Publishing USA. ISBN 9781441194909.
  16. ↑ "Australiancharts.com – Belle and Sebastian – The Life Pursuit". Hung Medien. Retrieved 5 June 2016.
  17. ↑ "Austriancharts.at – Belle and Sebastian – The Life Pursuit" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved 5 June 2016.
  18. ↑ "Ultratop.be – Belle and Sebastian – The Life Pursuit" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 5 June 2016.
  19. ↑ "Ultratop.be – Belle and Sebastian – The Life Pursuit" (in French). Hung Medien. Retrieved 5 June 2016.
  20. ↑ "Belle and Sebastian Chart History (Canadian Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved 26 June 2021.
  21. ↑ "Dutchcharts.nl – Belle and Sebastian – The Life Pursuit" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 5 June 2016.
  22. ↑ "Belle and Sebastian: The Life Pursuit" (in Finnish). Musiikkituottajat – IFPI Finland. Retrieved 5 June 2016.
  23. ↑ "Lescharts.com – Belle and Sebastian – The Life Pursuit". Hung Medien. Retrieved 5 June 2016.
  24. ↑ "Offiziellecharts.de – Belle and Sebastian – The Life Pursuit" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved 5 June 2016.
  25. ↑ "Irish-charts.com – Discography Belle and Sebastian". Hung Medien. Retrieved 26 June 2021.
  26. ↑ "Italiancharts.com – Belle and Sebastian – The Life Pursuit". Hung Medien. Retrieved 5 June 2016.
  27. ↑ "Norwegiancharts.com – Belle and Sebastian – The Life Pursuit". Hung Medien. Retrieved 5 June 2016.
  28. ↑ "Spanishcharts.com – Belle and Sebastian – The Life Pursuit". Hung Medien. Retrieved 5 June 2016.
  29. ↑ "Swedishcharts.com – Belle and Sebastian – The Life Pursuit". Hung Medien. Retrieved 5 June 2016.
  30. ↑ "Swisscharts.com – Belle and Sebastian – The Life Pursuit". Hung Medien. Retrieved 5 June 2016.
  31. ↑ "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 26 June 2021.
  32. ↑ "Belle and Sebastian Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved 26 June 2021.
  33. ↑ "Belle and Sebastian Chart History (Independent Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved 26 June 2021.
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