The BBC Sessions

iTunes Review

These BBC Recordings of the beloved twee Scottish group feature the final recordings with founding member cellist-vocalist Isobel Campbell, alongside several earlier performances that capture the band in all its swaying glory. Formed as a class project and expanded into a favorite cult band, this Scottish ensemble, led by the melodic Stuart Murdoch, put together in the ‘90s and ‘00s a catalog of insidious pop that creeps under the skin. “The State I’m In,” “Like Dylan In the Movies,” “The Stars of Track and Field,” and “Sleep the Clock Around” are songs of seductive allure. The group’s live performances aren’t far removed from the studio recordings. The band is surprisingly tight, though there is an extra muscle to the guitars throughout. Hardcore fans, however, will mostly focus on the final four previously unreleased tracks from 2001, highlighted by “Nothing In the Silence,” a tune that now sounds like Campbell’s farewell to her compatriots, and “Shoot the Sexual Athlete” that links the band to its Australian brethren, the mostly underrated Go-Betweens.