Wednesday 22 April 2009



Honey in the sun

(photo: Facebook)

(photo: Facebook)

When I first heard Camera Obscura, I fell for Tracyanne Campbell’s velvety, twee-pop voice and the contrast it cast against the breezy, confident, orchestral pop she and her band were obviously so good at.  The tone of Let’s Get Out Of This Country (their third album, and my first introduction to their work) was like a blossom opening for the first time, revelling in its own beauty and unique design.  Camera Obscura were a band that had captured the sound of coming into their own on tape; you could almost hear them impressing themselves with each passing song.  That blend of sincerity and confidence made Let’s Get Out Of This Country one of my favourite albums of 2006, and made me a fan for life.

My Maudlin Career sees the band settling into their sound even further, slowing the tempo down some and relaxing into their sound.  It;s a sure-footed album that offers little in the way of “new sounds” but is heavy on “good sounds”.  It’s an understated affair that still features all the loveliness and grandeur of “Lloyd, I’m Ready To Be Heartbroken” without going over-the-top and trying to be something more than they are.  In an interview earlier this year, Campbell said, “I hoped I could write something better than ‘Lloyd’; that was my goal, but I don’t know how you go about writing like that… I don’t think we’re the kind of band that will all of a sudden start doing wacky things like dance tracks.  We do what we do. ”

And what the do, they do so exquisitely well.  “James” and  the string, brass, and woodwind-laden “Careless Love” are two  beautiful and heartbreaking QBiM ballads, and the lead single, “French Navy” has the same kind of pop and swagger that made “Lloyd…” such a perfect pop song.  There probably won’t be a single off this one quite as big as that, but that’s little to quibble over; My Maudlin Career sets Camera Obscura up for a very prosperous and exciting 2009 and beyond.  Maudlin, my ass.

MP3: Camera Obscura “My Maudlin Career”
Facebook: Camera Obscura
Myspace: Camera Obscura
Twitter: Camera Obscura





by J. Di Gioia | 1 Comment »

This entry was posted on Wednesday, April 22nd, 2009 at 10:00 am and is filed under MP3. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.

One Response to “Honey in the sun”

Charles April 24th, 2009 at 1:53 pm

I had precisely the same reaction to the last record. And while I agree that this one is also very good, it occasionally feels a little bit claustrophobic. Of course, I’m still listening to it several times a day, so there’s every chance that it will grow on me and settle in after a few weeks.

I really like the description of this record as them “relaxing into their sound.”