Less attention was paid to the subtleties of storytelling, a cornerstone of engaging songwriting. Stuart Murdoch's powers of observation had been finely tuned by years spent in a world made small by the effects of ME.
As his health gradually improved, the Glasgow-based student ventured out, watching people from bus windows and building on the cast of characters that populated his memories of childhood.
Murdoch then set about assembling another cast, other college-based musicians who could help him bring these characters to life as the band Belle and Sebastian.
Debut album Tigermilk, a limited-release Music Business course project, put blood in the water for the circling major labels but Murdoch and his crew settled on indie label Jeepster, a better fit for the band's ''no singles; no press photos'' philosophy.
Within six months, defining second album If You're Feeling Sinister was on the shelves.
Sinister opens with The Stars Of Track And Field, steadily building from Murdoch's light and lispy vocal with lightly strummed guitar into something more urgent, keyboards and trumpet swelling to reinforce a memorable melody.
The tale of the girl who always got her way is at once familiar and evocative of the young person's world with its associated desires, pains and jealousies.
It's a scene Murdoch revisits throughout as his characters practice kissing, run the gauntlet in the park after dark, contemplate the generation gap, wrestle with dark thoughts and long to be set apart from the crowd.
Several tracks approach pop perfection, albeit a little pale and pasty in complexion.
Like Dylan In The Movies, the title track and Judy And The Dream Of Horses are arranged and performed with a light touch that keeps them fresh and timeless.
This is ordinary life writ large, a triumph of musicality over muscle.
