A couple of gems
G Exley | Toki-yo, Japan | 02/27/2004
(5 out of 5 stars)
"Firstly, Belle and Sebastian using Thin lizzy`s 'The Boys Are Back In Town` as a template and naming the result 'I'm A Cuckoo' seems to me to be a nicely random idea and I like nicely random ideas. Ultimately though it`s not a song I want to listen to a lot....For me it`s a wee slab of pop rocky exuberance with an odd but not necessarily ace set of lyrics (Jesus chasing coins wearing funny shoes or somesuch) - Great compared to usual pop but two other tracks on this EP delight me more....Namely 'Stop Look and Listen' which at a guess is a Murdoch, Jackson collaboration and is sung by them in unison. It zips along, is crammed with neat musical detail, features that easy Murdochian wit and is vaguely Monkeeish. It segues into a twangy instrumental thing which is an additional bit of (moderate) fun. The other delight is '(I Believe in) Travellin` Light', a Stevie Jackson tune of great charm which to me has the makings of a standard (along with other B&S songs like 'I Know Where the Summer Goes'). The Avalanches remix thing doesn`t grab me (except for the laughter at the end) but the other material makes this one of the best B&S EPs/singles."
This is all you need
tokyo111 | Los Angeles, CA United States | 11/11/2004
(5 out of 5 stars)
"I'm a huge Belle & Sebastian fan. but their latest full-length "Dear Catastrophe Waitress" left me cold.
The one exception -- "I'm a Cuckoo," a glorious blast of soft-rock awesomeness that makes me feel like summer has arrived every time I hear it. The song's smooth, instantly hummable riff is one of those melodies you want to hear repeated over and over, and the band happily obliges.
So that's here, along with two folk/country tunes. "Stop Look & Listen" has a Simon & Garfunkel feel... until it gives way to a surprising, propulsive surf-rock coda. "(I Believe In) Travellin' Light" makes an excellent soundtrack for a drive in the country.
Also included -- but not mentioned on Amazon's track listing here for some reason -- is the Avalanches remix of "I'm a Cuckoo." I'm not a big fan of remixes, but this is excellent, miraculously transforming the tune into a gleeful world beat number complete with pleasant tribal rhythms and a choir of African (or at least African-sounding) chantresses.
Plus a video! For cheap! Sweet! Now I don't need to buy the whole album."
Fun filler
IRate | 08/22/2009
(3 out of 5 stars)
"Another fun, but not necessary add-on during the DCW period features a solid single and some worthy bonus cuts which do not posess the compositional fortitude to warrant a purchase outside of completists but nonetheless continues to provide quality filler for fans."
