Belle and Sebastian Drop “What Happened to You, Son?”

Belle and Sebastian Drop "What Happened to You, Son?"

Glasgow indie pop band Belle and Sebastian have dropped their new single “What Happened to You, Son?“.

The song is out now via Matador Records and is the band’s first new material since Late Developers, the second of two back-to-back albums following last year’s A Bit of Previous. Buy it here

Speaking about it, Stuart Murdoch says:

“‘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.”

The band will embark on their North American tour next week, which will be followed by European dates.

Take a listen below.

Upcoming Tour Dates

US Dates

APRIL
23 – Atlanta, GA @ The Eastern #
24 – Richmond, VA @ The National #
26 – Philadelphia, PA @ Union Transfer %
27 – Boston, MA @ Orpheum Theatre %
28 – Montreal, QC @ M Telus %
29 – Toronto, ON @ History %

MAY
1 – Brooklyn, NY @ Brooklyn Paramount %
2 – Washington, DC @ The Anthem %
3 – Detroit, MI @ Royal Oak Music Theatre %
4 – Chicago, IL @ Salt Shed %
6 – Kalamazoo, MI @ Bell’s Eccentric Cafe #
7 – Milwaukee, WI @ Turner Hall Ballroom #
8 – Minneapolis, MN @ First Avenue #
10 – Denver, CO @ The Fillmore Auditorium %
11 – Salt Lake City, UT @ Kilby Block Party
13 – Los Angeles, CA @ The Bellwether %
14 – Los Angeles, CA @ The Bellwether %
15 – Los Angeles, CA @ The Theatre at Ace Hotel #
16 – Oakland, CA @ Fox Theater %
18 – Portland, OR @ Revolution Hall %
19 – Seattle, WA @ Moore Theatre %

# w/ Haley Heynderickx
% The Weather Station

European Dates

MAY
25 – Madrid, ES @ Tomavistas Festival
27 – Merignac, FR @ Le Krakatoa
28 – Paris, FR @ Salle Pleyel

JUNE
7 – Berlin, DE @ Admiralspalast
8 – Hamburg, DE @ ELBJAZZ 2024
9 – Koln, DE @ Gloria-Theater
11 – Feyzin, FR @ L’Epicerie Moderne Feyzin
12 – Nimes, FR @ Paloma – Grande Salle
13 – Donostia, ES @ Kursaal
29 – Brussels, BE @ Ancienne Belgique
30 – Amsterdam, NL @ Amsterdam Bostheater

JUlY 2 – Stockholm, SE @ Cirkus

AUGUST
2 – Glasgow, UK @ The Glasgow Weekender
3 – Glasgow, UK @ The Glasgow Weekender

Photo Credit: Anna Isola Crolla