The Life Pursuit

The Life Pursuit is Belle & Sebastian's seventh album. It was released on February 6, 2006. It continued the more pop sound that was introduced in their previous album, Dear Catastrophe Waitress. However, unlike that album and all of the group's albums before and after it, this album did not feature their signature string arrangements. The group, tired of having big orchestra accompaniments, opted for a more stripped down rock sound.

The album was originally going to be a double album, but it was trimmed down to 13 songs, with the rest being released as bonus tracks and b-sides. This was the group's most acclaimed album since If You're Feeling Sinister, and was their biggest commercial success to date, with three charting singles. It appeared in Pitchfork's list of the greatest albums of the 2000s.

Critical Reception

 * Pitchfork - 8.5/10
 * Piero Scaruffi - 5/10

Track Listing
(All songs by Stuart Murdoch unless where otherwise noted)
 * 1) Act of the Apostle, Pt. 1 - 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 (Stevie Jackson)
 * 11) Act of the Apostle, Pt. 2 - 4:20
 * 12) For the Price of a Cup of Tea - 3:19
 * 13) Mornington Crescent - 5:40