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June 04, 2008
Posted by kramer
So we are due for another Musicbath posting as it has been over a few weeks since we have had one. Due to the fact that most of my new music purchased lately has been older stuff, this is going to be focused on an older release.
I developed a taste for Camera Obscura very quickly. I attribute my immediate approval to the fact that I was currently going through a big Belle and Sebastian phase (Another solid Scottish indie rock band) and the fact that I loved Tracyanne Campbell's voice. I had picked up their most recent release last year (LET'S GET OUT OF THIS COUNTRY) and I loved every track, from start to finish. So, like I typically do when I love something, I picked up their back catalog over the past few months.
Camera Obscura has put out 3 LP's since their founding 1996 (LGOOTC was released in 2006; UNDERACHIEVERS PLEASE TRY HARDER in 2003). BIGGEST BLUEST HI-FI was released back in 2001 and it definitely provides you with where the band's sound has developed. A lot of indie fans consider C.O. a poor woman's Belle and Sebastian as their music is very similar with lots of organ and layered orchestration (consisting of strings and horns) under mostly introspective lyrics and vocals.
On BIGGEST BLUEST HI-FI, there is clearly a theme. It is to create a poppy sound with lyrics of longing and descriptions of life events. The music is far from complex but it is produced with an immaculate touch for detail and each song, with all of its flaws, comes through with complete clarity. Camera Obscura are not going to be receiving awards for breaking new ground in musical experimentation but they should get plenty of kudos for fusing 60's sounds into a 21st century theme.
Stand-outs on the debut BIGGEST BLUEST HI-FI would be "Happy New Year," "Eighties Fan," and "Pen and Notebook."
http://www.myspace.com/cameraobscuraband
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