Written almost entirely by front man Stuart Murdoch, Belle and Sebastian's sixth album is a magnificently assured and diverse pop record. With nods to such influences as Cornelius, Manfred Mann, and David Bowie, the Life Pursuit mingles the folky, be-sweatered pathos of the group's earliest work with joyfully satirical late 60's sunshine pop, and the sophisticated 80's-influenced work reminiscent of their prior album, 2003's Dear Catastrophe Waitress. Matador. 2006.