BELLE AND SEBASTIAN release standalone video and single ‘A Bit Of Previous’

BELLE AND SEBASTIAN release standalone video and single 'A Bit Of Previous'
Credit: Marisa Privitera Murdoch

It’s not common practice to have an album’s title track released after said album as a standalone single, but Belle and Sebastian aren’t sticklers for ceremony. Today, the band release new single and video “A Bit Of Previous”, which shares the title of their critically acclaimed 9th full-length released in May to become their third Top Ten charting album.

Explained alternately as an allusion to the concept of reincarnation in Buddhism and a passing reference to a past romantic relationship by a band member’s father – in either instance, “A Bit Of Previous” touches on how the past can give fresh perspective to our present via dark and jangly upbeat pop that is melancholy as it is purposeful and is another piece in the rich tapestry of Belle and Sebastian’s latest era.

The hand-drawn video was directed and illustrated by long time band collaborators Graham Samuels and Henrik Appel, following a concept by frontman Stuart Murdoch. “The song touched on the themes of karma and reincarnation,” says Murdoch. “In the clip a woman journeys through her life ‘seeing’ people’s karma. She sees what they are and what they will become. She sees people who are doing well, who are gods in this life. ‘Just because you’ve got the highground / Doesn’t mean you’re have the most fun’. She imagines them transform into different life forms, even into walking ghosts. Conversely, she sees some who are destitute and alone. She sees them transforming into enlightened people. Finally, she imagines her own future, shrouded in cloud and mystery.”

Watch ‘A Bit Of Previous’ – BELOW:

Currently on tour in North America, Belle and Sebastian return to Europe for several standalone shows in July. A full UK tour follows in November, including two nights at The Roundhouse in London, followed by EU dates in early 2023.

Belle and Sebastian’s 9th album ‘A Bit Of Previous’ was released in May to reach #8 on the UK album chart. It was previewed by single “Unnecessary Drama” which was A-listed on BBC 6 Music and performed on Channel 4’s ‘Sunday Brunch’. Other singles from the album were “Young And Stupid”, “Talk To Me Talk To Me” and Ukraine fundraiser song and video “If They’re Shooting At You”.

‘A Bit Of Previous’ was recorded in Belle and Sebastian’s hometown of Glasgow when plans to fly to Los Angeles in spring of 2020 were scrapped due to the pandemic. Says Murdoch in the liner notes: “We did it together, us and the city. This record was the first ‘full’ LP recording for B&S in Glasgow since ‘Fold Your Hands Child’, 1999. We clocked in every morning, we played our songs, we wrote together, we tried new things, we took the proverbial lump of clay, and we threw it every day.”

The result is one the most diverse, hands-on and thrilling entries in the bands catalogue, self-produced and recorded (with contributions from Brian McNeill, Matt Wiggins, Kevin Burleigh and Shawn Everett). It’s a band nearing their third collective decade with grace, irreverence, musical bravado and lyrical exactitude and emerging as an endless source of energy and reinvention.

2022 Tour Dates:
Jun-8: The Bridge at Santa Fe Brewing Company +
Jun-10: The Criterion, Oklahoma City +
Jun-11: Stubb’s Waller Creek, Austin #
Jun-13: Ryman Auditorium, Nashville #
Jun-14: Red Hat Amphitheater, Raleigh ^
Jun-15: Wolf Trap, Vienna ^
Jun-16: SummerStage, Central Park, NY #
Jun-17: Franklin Music Hall, Philadelphia #
Jun-18: Roadrunner, Boston #
Jul-1: Spain, Barcelona, Vida Festival
Jul-2: Spain, Madrid, Noches del Botanico,
Jul-15 Bristol, UK Lloyds Amphitheatre, Bristol Harbourside
Jul-16 Stirling, UK Cardross Estate, Doune The Rabbit Hole
Nov-13 Cardiff, UK Great Hall – Student’s Union
Nov-14 London, UK The Roundhouse
Nov-15 London, UK The Roundhouse
Nov -17 Sheffield, UK O2 Academy Sheffield
Nov-18 Liverpool, UK Olympia
Nov -19 Hull, UK Asylum, Hull University Union
Nov-21 Aberdeen, UK Beach Ballroom
Nov-23 Edinburgh, UK Usher Hall
Nov-24 Newcastle Upon Tyne, UK O2 City Hall, Newcastle
Nov-25 Manchester, UK Manchester Academy
Nov-27 Cambridge, UK Corn Exchange
Nov-28 Birmingham, UK O2 Academy Birmingham
Nov-29 Southampton, UK O2 Guildhall Southampton
Nov-30 Brighton, UK Brighton Dome

* with Divino Niño
+ with Thee Sacred Souls
% with Tennis and Thee Sacred Souls
# with Los Bitchos
+ with Japanese Breakfast and Los Bitchos

2023 Tour Dates:
Jan 8th, 2023 France – Le Mem, Rennes
Jan-10 France, Paris, Casino de Paris
Jan-11 Holland, Utrecht, Tivoli Grote Zaal
Jan-13 – Luxemborg City, Luxemborg, den Atelier
Jan-14 Germany, Hamburg, Laeiszhalle
Jan-16 Sweden, Gothenburg Tradgarn
Jan-17 Sweden, Stockholm Filadelfia
Jan-18 Norway, Oslo Sentrum Scene
Jan-19 Denmark, Copenhagen Vega
Jan-21 Germany, Berlin Tempodrom
Jan-22 Germany, Munich Muffathalle
Jan-23 Switzerland, Zurich X-tra Limmathaus
Jan-25 France, Clermont-Ferrand, Co-op de Mai
Jan-26 Italy, Milan Fabrique

Xsnoize Author
Mark Millar is the founder of XS Noize and looks after the daily running of the website as well as hosting interviews for the weekly XS Noize Podcast. Mark's favourite album is Achtung Baby by U2.

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