John Peel favourites CAMERA OBSCURA have once again come up with something fragile and melodic. The songs here stir the senses and melt in your heart, acting like emotional painkillers and leaving you numb
The single contains three slices of gorgeous pop. A-Side, ‘Lloyd, I’m ready to be heartbroken’ takes a pipe organ second or two to reflect before the whole lot kicks in, manic, bright and utterly unstoppable. I am instantly hooked on this echoing and uplifting musical Prozac, my nerves and my pain submerged by an 80’s Top 40 hit feel that sweeps you away amidst a chiming orchestration of love’s blindness.
It does this in such an odd way. Breezing along like a festive theme in the snow, this bounces back in time to echo past eurovision entries from serious (Scandinavian?) competitiors. The record sounds oddly off-centre, despite the hugely catchy, radio-friendly feel that is created. The chorus is instantly in your head, and the relentless waltzing beat is pulled along by the semi-acoustic warmth of the lead guitar, and soothed by the gentle addition of brass and harmonica. There is also that hallucinatory moment of beauty, as the instruments begin to sing like voices in your head, as fading backing vocals seem to merge with the words of the lovers you begin to remember.
‘Phil and Don’ is a twisted and despairing slice of alt-country, complete with steel guitars, whining harmonica, and gentle accordion, and it rolls and slithers on it's slippery descent as the pitch black despair increases. "I’d break my back for you, it’s not enough" goes that beautiful line, and the soul piercing harmonica carries it along for an eternity as the guitar’s pick-ups click in time to the vibrations of the tremolo.
‘Roman Holiday’ gives you a gentle shove, and then submerges you in this subliminally loose and absolutely gorgeous melody, with Traceyanne Campbell’s voice dragging across the horizon, and hitting a wide, wide range during the beautifully intoned vocals. Again, the guitar hits a warm spot inside of you, as somewhere way up the fretboard it echoes this beautifully empty refrain.
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The tap-tapping of the drumsticks follows an inevitable, metronomic pattern that throws the guitar out on a melancholy trail of introspection, and the resulting sound gets inside you, searching desperately for the pain and a relentless search of your soul
‘I knew you well/for a short spell’ is the ultimate hook line. The irresistible, rich tones, together with the half-asleep delivery, makes the hairs stand up on the back of your neck and a lovely shiver run through the soul. With Traceyanne's voice, complete with flat vowels, at the forefront of the final mix, this is Camera Obscura playing to their strengths. It is music to reminisce to, as long forgotten love affairs and misty eyed dreams are stirred up by its powerful undercurrent.
More intriguing than a shit Agatha Christie novel? Absolutely!
The record is emulsified in a protective classical layer, and would take some beating when it comes to conveying a state of shock using pop music
The CD also contains the video for 'I love my Jean' on DVD.
http://www.camera-obscura.net/
http://www.myspace.com/cameraobscuraband
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