Listen to "The Cat with the Cream", the new track from Belle & Sebastian

Lyrically, the track's amongst the most incisive moments the band have ever hit on - spitting their quiet menace at everyone from grubby MP's to the "men in frocks of Parliament". Although the band's hallmark blend of domestic and public is as poignant as ever, the song comes heavily armed with overt political barbs. The societal frustration of lines like "Everybody bet on the boom and got busted" come piqued by classic B&S protagonists - gathered around kitchen tables, studying in the library, working out how changes in the outside world impact on theirs.

Stuart Murdoch's bite's worse than his bark though - despite the sharp awareness of its meaning, his vocal line glimmers with a similar gentle charm, above the lush swirl of a string-led wash. It's a tender introduction to one of this year's very best records - listen for yourself below.

The Cat with the Cream

Sitting at the old kitchen table
Peace and health and dreams
Stretching out in the darkness
Mother’s up the stairs with her ageing new boyfriend
Cathy’s staying in to make sure nothing happens
All aboard the freak parade
I cover up my head and pray
I’m praying for the light
Down amongst the old city chambers
Men in frocks debate all the policy changes
Everybody bet on the boom and got busted
Everybody bet and in the government trusted
Grubby little red MP
Yellow flapping hopelessly

Tory like the cat with the cream
Tory like the cat with the cream
I studied you in history
I studied in the library
In days of old when knights were bold
They’d settle it with sword and shield
In days of old when knights were bold
It’s settled by the king

Praying for a friend is contagious
Specially when it comes at the old kitchen table
Listening for the swoosh of his quickening paces
Watching for the smile on the bravest of faces
How I wish you’d read to me
Verses rich in swallows and trees
Get me though the night

Waiting at the old kitchen table
Listening for my code listening for my instructions
Surely now I’m here, I am destined for greatness
I want to be the Queen pulling kids out of rivers
All aboard the freak parade
I cover up my head and pray

Praying for the cat with the cream
Praying for the cat with the cream
I studied you in history
I studied in the library
In days of old when knights were bold
They’d settle it with sword and shield
In days of old when knights were bold
It’s settled by the king
It’s settled by the king
It’s settled by the king
It’s settled by the king

Belle and Sebastian's Girls in Peacetime Want to Dance is released via Matador on January 19th. Pre-order the album here.