Looper is simple, gentle, even childish; Up a Tree begins and ends with playground atmosphere and children's voices, lending the music a summery sort of timelessness. Of course, every review of Up A Tree must include the fact that Looper is the brainchild of Belle and Sebastian bass player Stuart David, thereby alerting completist members of their fan-base that there's something new to buy -- but while Up a Tree won't drive B&S fans away screaming, it reveals Stuart (and collaborator Karn) David as someone who deserves individual attention. From his gentle structuring of tape loops into rhythms on "The Treehouse" to the intimately cinematic quality of his spoken-word narrative, paired with epistolic typewriter tapping and harmonica on "Impossible Things #2", David builds tiny, photorealistic worlds full of warmth and comfort. "The Ballad of Ray Suzuki" scrunches up bouncy guitar plucking, squiggly keyboards, a jaunty breakbeat and some self-referential vocal samples to create an airy, groovy little track that's almost -- but not quite -- too lazy to be danceable. "Columbo's Car" slows the pace to jazz-noir, with bass, tiny horn hits and finger-snaps dovetailing into an unexpected semi-funk tempo. For actual singing, check out "Up a Tree Again", in which David's breathy voice combines with a pleasantly amateurish refrain, a bit of brass and an indelibly wistful keyboard melody. The only downside to Looper is that you're getting the tip of the iceberg; the live Looper is reportedly a multimedia affair, replete with films by Karn, sculptures and all manner of things to watch. Until they tour, you'll have to make do with Up A Tree.