Late Developers by Belle & Sebastian

Late Developers, Belle and Sebastian's twelfth studio album, landed on Matador on 13 January 2023 with almost no warning. The band dropped a 10-second teaser on 5 January, announced the record and its first single, "I Don't Know What You See in Me", four days later, and had the whole thing out before the week was done.

Stuart Murdoch still leads the band that formed in Glasgow in 1996, and the familiar crew is here with him: Stevie Jackson on guitar and piano, Sarah Martin on everything from violin to flute, Chris Geddes on keyboards, Richard Colburn on drums and Bobby Kildea on bass and guitar. The sound is indie pop at its most gently self-mocking, bright melodies wrapped around wry little confessions, the work of a band comfortable enough in its own skin to poke fun at it. Critics warmed to it, and it averaged 79 on Metacritic across 15 reviews.

Written with AI assistance from RockLists chart data, MusicBrainz and Wikipedia.