Dear Catastrophe Waitress

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Dear Catastrophe Waitress
Dearcatastrophecover.jpg
Studio album by
Released6 October 2003
RecordedSummer 2003
Studio Sarm West (London)
Genre Baroque pop
Length48:17
Label Rough Trade
Producer Trevor Horn
Belle & Sebastian chronology
Storytelling
(2002)
Dear Catastrophe Waitress
(2003)
Push Barman to Open Old Wounds
(2005)
Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Metacritic 79/100 [1]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar half.svg [2]
Blender Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svg [3]
Entertainment Weekly C+ [4]
The Guardian Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svg [5]
Mojo Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svg [6]
NME 8/10 [7]
Pitchfork 7.5/10 [8]
Rolling Stone Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svg [9]
Spin B+ [10]
Uncut Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svg [11]

Dear Catastrophe Waitress is the sixth studio album by Scottish indie pop band Belle & Sebastian, released on 6 October 2003 on Rough Trade Records.

Contents

It was produced by Trevor Horn, a former member of the Buggles and the producer of groups like Yes and Frankie Goes to Hollywood. Horn gave it a more polished, pop-friendly sound, which stood in sharp contrast with their previous lo-fi, folky albums (although songs like "Lord Anthony" hearkened back to their old sound). In particular, the danceable track "Stay Loose" proved to be the first in a series of songs (such as "Your Cover's Blown" and "Sukie in the Graveyard") that further diverged from their roots.

"Stay Loose" was released to radio on 24 February 2004. [12] The album was nominated for the 2004 Mercury Music Prize, while the song "Step into My Office, Baby" was shortlisted for an Ivor Novello Award in the Best Song category. As of 2007, Dear Catastrophe Waitress had sold 138,000 copies in the US. [13]

Recording

The producer Trevor Horn became a fan of Belle & Sebastian through his teenage daughter, and particularly admired the lyrics. When word reached the band that he was a fan, they invited him to produce their new album. They recorded traditionally, rehearsing extensively and then recording live rather than using overdubs. [14]

Track listing

Dear Catastrophe Waitress track listing
No.TitleLength
1."Step into My Office, Baby"4:12
2."Dear Catastrophe Waitress"2:22
3."If She Wants Me"5:05
4."Piazza, New York Catcher"3:03
5."Asleep on a Sunbeam"3:22
6."I'm a Cuckoo"5:26
7."You Don't Send Me"3:08
8."Wrapped Up in Books"3:34
9."Lord Anthony"4:14
10."If You Find Yourself Caught in Love"4:15
11."Roy Walker"2:57
12."Stay Loose"6:41
Total length:48:17

Charts

Chart performance for Dear Catastrophe Waitress
Chart (2003)Peak
position
Australian Albums (ARIA) [15] 88
Dutch Albums (Album Top 100) [16] 58
French Albums (SNEP) [17] 76
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100) [18] 64
Irish Albums (IRMA) [19] 25
Italian Albums (FIMI) [20] 46
Norwegian Albums (VG-lista) [21] 10
Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan) [22] 16
UK Albums (OCC) [23] 21
US Billboard 200 [24] 84

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References

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  2. Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "Dear Catastrophe Waitress – Belle and Sebastian". AllMusic . Retrieved 26 February 2016.
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