I have a problem and I’m not sure how to fix it: I’m in a musical funk, related to the newest Belle & Sebastian release, The Life Pursuit. It has been almost a month since I bought the album and I have yet to listen to a band whose initials contain neither a “B” nor an “S.” At the rate I’m going, I’ll wear out my copy of The Life Pursuit before it is even a year old.

Loyal followers of the Belle & Sebastian cult have waited three years for the release of this indie-pop gem. A month ago, after 1095.864 days of bated breath, sweaty palms and bitten fingernails, The Life Pursuit was finally here. And guess what — it’s really good!

Musically, it’s a sunny walk in the park. Jangly guitar, upbeat trumpet, funky clavinet — you can’t help but smile and click your heels to the jubilant noises that The Belles dish out like candy. This album is pop, sweet and sugary to the core.

Stuart Murdoch, lead singer and songwriter of the six-person group, has a penchant for melding themes that have no business associating with each other, such as misunderstood adolescents and Catholicism. Despite their seemingly separate natures, it all jives. Don’t take my word for it — just listen to the first words out of Murdoch’s mouth on the opening track: “Morning prayers took the girl unaware/She was late for class and she knew it.”

We’ve already satisfied both themes. Misunderstood adolescent, check. Catholicism, check.

The following 12 tracks also fulfill one or often both themes. The Life Pursuit is neither a concept album nor a rock opera, but there is an undeniable overlap in the songs — so much so that listening to the album is a whole lot like reading a screenplay.

The native Glaswegians have spent ten years playing together. And somehow, with the release of each of their half dozen proper albums, the band manages to reinvent their sound over and over again, while still maintaining the elements that make them great. How Belle & Sebastian continue to do this, I’m not sure. Maybe they’re aliens or something. I don’t want to question their gift — all I want to do is listen to The Life Pursuit.

–Madeleine Davis-Hayes