Belle and Sebastian Dash Reticent Rep

Belle and Sebastian are not a duo but a super-indie Glaswegian male-female collective named after a vintage French children’s cartoon. The U.K. pop phenomenon makes airy, cerebral music and is reputedly mysterious, largely due to principal singer-songwriter Stuart Murdoch’s press-shy tendencies.

Murdoch quickly smashed that myth during the 5-year-old band’s local debut Wednesday, opening a two-night stand at the Wiltern Theatre for a mostly collegiate audience. Rather than moping amid the group, whose eight members were joined by up to five additional players, the guitarist-keyboardist danced deliriously and chatted between numbers about the Dodgers, Scottish football, and how weirdly nervous he felt.

This unexpected garrulousness provided a fetching contrast to such introverted tunes as “I Fought in a War” and “The Boy With the Arab Strap.” They formed a kind of soundtrack for lives of not-so-quiet desperation with their subtle sardonic kick and obsession with the perpetual-adolescent themes of doomed attraction, petulant rebellion and unrequited love.

Drawn from last year’s U.K. hit album “Fold Your Hands Child, You Walk Like a Peasant” and earlier releases, the 90-minute set blended a simple, Velvet Underground-esque folkiness with clean, ‘60s soul grooves and the Smiths’ brooding romanticism. If the languid passion of it all made the mood a little samey, the players kept things interesting by coloring the mesh of electric-acoustic guitars and keyboards with strings, horns, flute, percussion and vocal harmonies.

Occasionally swapping lead duties with guitarist Stevie Jackson and cellist Isobel Campbell, Murdoch proved quirkily charismatic, the ache in his wistful tenor making even the more precious numbers feel genuine. An affectionate rendition of Love’s “Alone Again Or” fit perfectly, while a guest appearance by ‘60s-vintage soul singer Evie Sands, performing the classic “Take Me for a Little While,” further underscored the timeless torchiness at the band’s core.