Dear Catastrophe Waitress

Dear Catastrophe Waitress is the sixth studio album by the Scottish indie pop band Belle & Sebastian, released on 6 October 2003 on Rough Trade Records. It was produced by Trevor Horn.

Dear Catastrophe Waitress
Studio album by Belle & Sebastian
Released	6 October 2003
Recorded	Summer 2003
Studio	Sarm West (London)
Genre	Baroque pop Indie pop twee pop
Length	48:17
Label	Rough Trade
Producer	Trevor Horn
Belle & Sebastian chronology
Storytelling (2002) Dear Catastrophe Waitress (2003) Push Barman to Open Old Wounds (2005)

Professional ratings

Aggregate scores
Source	Rating
Metacritic	79/100[1]
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[2]
Blender	[3]
Entertainment Weekly	C+[4]
The Guardian	[5]
Mojo	[6]
NME	8/10[7]
Pitchfork	7.5/10[8]
Rolling Stone	[9]
Spin	B+[10]
Uncut	[11]

"Stay Loose" was released to radio on 24 February 2004.^[12] The album was nominated for the 2004 Mercury Music Prize, while "Step into My Office, Baby" was shortlisted for an Ivor Novello Award for Best Song. As of 2007, Dear Catastrophe Waitress had sold 138,000 copies in the US.^[13]

Recording

The producer Trevor Horn became a fan of Belle & Sebastian through his teenage daughter, and particularly admired the lyrics. When the band heard he was a fan, they invited him to produce their new album. They recorded traditionally, rehearsing extensively and then recording live rather than using overdubs.^[14] Horn, known for using electronic equipment to transform music, was seen as a surprising choice for Belle and Sebastian, who were described by the Guardian as "the last living purveyors of arts-and-crafts indie values".^[15]

Track listing

Dear Catastrophe Waitress track listing

No.	Title	Length
1.	"Step into My Office, Baby"	4:12
2.	"Dear Catastrophe Waitress"	2:22
3.	"If She Wants Me"	5:05
4.	"Piazza, New York Catcher"	3:03
5.	"Asleep on a Sunbeam" (Sarah Martin and Stuart Murdoch on vocals)	3:22
6.	"I'm a Cuckoo"	5:26
7.	"You Don't Send Me"	3:08
8.	"Wrapped Up in Books" (Stuart Murdoch and Stevie Jackson on vocals)	3:34
9.	"Lord Anthony"	4:14
10.	"If You Find Yourself Caught in Love"	4:15
11.	"Roy Walker" (Stevie Jackson on vocals)	2:57
12.	"Stay Loose"	6:41
Total length:		48:17

Charts

Chart performance for Dear Catastrophe Waitress

Chart (2003)	Peak position
Australian Albums (ARIA)[16]	88
Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)[17]	58
French Albums (SNEP)[18]	76
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[19]	64
Irish Albums (IRMA)[20]	25
Italian Albums (FIMI)[21]	46
Norwegian Albums (VG-lista)[22]	10
Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan)[23]	16
UK Albums (OCC)[24]	21
US Billboard 200[25]	84