Sheet Music

In 1997, the Scottish indie rock band Belle and Sebastian released their breakthrough, sophomore album, If You’re Feeling Sinister. I was eighteen years old — playing in a band myself, navigating a long-distance romance, and trying to figure out my future — and the confessional lyrics and shimmery songwriting found ready purchase in my young, feel-every-feeling heart. When Stuart Murdoch sang, “Oh, I’ll settle down with some old story / About a boy who’s just like me / Thought there was love in everything and everyone / You’re so naive!” in “Get Me Away from Here, I’m Dying,” what else could I do but swoon?

While college deejays spun the album into the eager ears of new listeners, enthusiasts were already well aware of Belle and Sebastian. Three years earlier, their excellent debut, Tigermilk, had been given a limited vinyl release abroad that sold out in a matter of months. The record made rumblings in the underground on this side of the pond. If...