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Apr 16, 2024 By Mark Redfern Photography by Anna Isola Crolla

Scotland’s Belle and Sebastian have shared a new song, “What Happened to You, Son?,” that was originally intended for their last album, 2023’s Late Developers. It has been released via Matador ahead of the band’s North American tour, which starts next week. Listen to the song below, followed by the tour dates.

Frontman Stuart Murdoch had this to say about the song in a press release:

“‘What Happened to You, Son’ got pulled rather randomly from the last LP because the LP felt one track too long. Out it came.

“The song is about my youth, and the funny hole I fell into in my late teens. I was failing at my university course, failing in almost everything I tried around then. I was obsessed with the music of the time, I used to hang so much on the lyrics and message and feeling of certain bands of the ’80s era – it probably wasn’t healthy.

“So although the theme of this song is a little accusatory, the fault is with the beholder. I could have switched off at any time. Instead I let the singers become my penpals and my deities.

“The song tries to address what happens when the pop stars grow up, and change, and go a different way, and seem to betray the stance they held when you loved them the most.

“The song finishes hopefully, however. There’s always a way forward, always a light to guide you if you look closely, if you give up part of yourself, if you let yourself flow and change.”

Belle and Sebastian released a new album, Late Developers, in January 2023 via Matador. It was the quick follow-up/companion album to 2022’s A Bit of Previous album.

In June 2023, the band teamed up with Suki Waterhouse to release a new song, “Every Day’s a Lesson in Humility,” for the Sub Pop Singles Club.

Stream A Bit of Previous here and read our review of it here.

A Bit of Previous was the band’s first proper full-length album in seven years. But in that time they had released EPs (plus an album that collected all the EPs), a soundtrack, and a live album. Their last regular album before that was 2015’s Girls in Peacetime Want to Dance. In late 2017 and early 2018 Belle and Sebastian released three interconnected EPs via Matador, all titled How to Solve Your Human Problems. Then all three EPs were collected in a vinyl box set and CD compilation that came out in 2018. In 2019 they released the soundtrack for the indie film Days of the Bagnold Summer. In 2020 they released the live album, What to Look for in Summer.

Read our interview with Belle and Sebastian’s Stuart Murdoch on How to Solve Your Human Problems.

Read our review of How to Solve Your Human Problems.

Read our interview with Belle and Sebastian’s Stuart Murdoch on Days of the Bagnold Summer.

Belle and Sebastian Tour Dates:

Apr 23 – Atlanta, GA @ The Eastern #
Apr 24 – Richmond, VA @ The National #
Apr 26 – Philadelphia, PA @ Union Transfer %
Apr 27 – Boston, MA @ Orpheum Theatre %
Apr 28 – Montreal, QC @ M Telus %
Apr 29 – Toronto, ON @ History %
May 1 – Brooklyn, NY @ Brooklyn Paramount %
May 2 – Washington, DC @ The Anthem %
May 3 – Detroit, MI @ Royal Oak Music Theatre %
May 4 – Chicago, IL @ Salt Shed %
May 6 – Kalamazoo, MI @ Bell’s Eccentric Cafe #
May 7 – Milwaukee, WI @ Turner Hall Ballroom #
May 8 – Minneapolis, MN @ First Avenue #
May 10 – Denver, CO @ The Fillmore Auditorium %
May 11 – Salt Lake City, UT @ Kilby Block Party
May 13 – Los Angeles, CA @ The Bellwether %
May 14 – Los Angeles, CA @ The Bellwether %
May 15 – Los Angeles, CA @ The Theatre at Ace Hotel #
May 16 – Oakland, CA @ Fox Theater %
May 18 – Portland, OR @ Revolution Hall %
May 19 – Seattle, WA @ Moore Theatre %
May 25 – Madrid, ES @ Tomavistas Festival
May 27 – Merignac, FR @ Le Krakatoa
May 28 – Paris, FR @ Salle Pleyel
June 7 – Berlin, DE @ Admiralspalast
June 8 – Hamburg, DE @ ELBJAZZ 2024
June 9 – Koln, DE @ Gloria-Theater
June 11 – Feyzin, FR @ L’Epicerie Moderne Feyzin
June 12 – Nimes, FR @ Paloma - Grande Salle
June 13 – Donostia, ES @ Kursaal
June 29 – Brussels, BE @ Ancienne Belgique
June 30 – Amsterdam, NL @ Amsterdam Bostheater
July 2 – Stockholm, SE @ Cirkus
August 2 – Glasgow, UK @ The Glasgow Weekender
August 3 – Glasgow, UK @ The Glasgow Weekender

# w/ Haley Heynderickx
% The Weather Station

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