By Fiona Shepherd

Published 11th Dec 2023, 10:41 BST

Updated 11th Dec 2023, 16:12 BST

Belle & Sebastian, Paisley Town Hall ****

Fresh from a cartoon cameo appearance as the Belle and Sebastian Experience in a new Scottish-themed episode of The Simpsons, the actual Belle & Sebastian filmed their own little show over two nights at the recently refurbished Paisley Town Hall with frontman Stuart Murdoch promising fans a “smorgasbord of songs from through the ages”.

The seven-piece (with additional brass and keyboard players) wasted no time in beaming right back to Belle’s year dot with track one, side one of their 1996 debut album Tigermilk.

Even with a false start from Murdoch on acoustic guitar, The State I Am In was a beguiling reminder of many fans’ entry point to this idiosyncratic band.

Nearly 28 years on from then, and with plenty of new fans who were not even born when they first formed, this most ardently beloved of outfits have amassed an extensive and diverse catalogue from which they cherry-picked unexpected gems such as the Stevie Jackson-led pep and vim of So In The Moment or the delicate devastation of Slow Graffiti, the tune written for the 1998 film soundtrack of Irvine Welsh’s The Acid House and performed here by Murdoch from a piano podium at the back of the hall.

Keeping it fluid, Murdoch next popped up in the venue balcony, grooving to the lithe funk of Your Cover’s Blown, before returning to the stage with Spinal Tap-esque tales of getting lost backstage in Singapore. One attendee even claimed to have been at that very show.

Much closer to home, there was audience representation from various Glasgow neighbourhoods and satellite towns, while a local was moved to heckle: “No Paisley, no party”.

All are welcome in the Belle & Sebastian community – as one might come to expect from a band for whom no gig is complete without a fan dance party onstage to The Boy With the Arab Strap.

Music review: Belle & Sebastian, Paisley Town Hall