Camera Obscura - My Maudlin Career

Should I be worried that some tortured souls make me happy? It's just a fact that there are some artists out there who have built their career on depressing music yet oftentimes, those very songs for some reason put me in my happy place. The Smiths, for example, are funny to me, but not depressing. The Cure makes me dance. To some people this is just weird. Thankfully, there are other artists that do manage to somber me up, like Ryan Adams for instance. I suppose the fact that I do not derive joy from every maudlin career should be enough to keep me from seeing a therapist just yet.

Still, I gotta say, that even though Camera Obscura's Traceyanne Campbell has described the new CD as "dark and brutal", I have to admit that I actually find myself feeling inspired by the album's larger than life sound. It's very common for people to refer to the band as 'twee' and to make innumerable comparisons to Belle and Sebastian, but I think at this point the band has moved quite a bit beyond that, chartering the same course they set on 2006's Let's Get Out Of This Country, but solidifying their sound with even greater production and very solid track organization. The flow of the album is seamless, and the sound is once again a Spector-inspired toast of saccharine perfection. This is noticeable right from the first song French Navy, a song with delicious orchestration and the sweetest dang vocals around. That description continues to grow ever more appropriate with each successive track. The Sweetest Thing is a definite standout with its emotive vocals, harmonies that are heavy on the 60's girl group throwback vibe and more heart tugging orchestration. In mellower numbers like James and You Told A Lie, the sincerity in her voice are sure to soften even the hardest of hearts. I also appreciate the fact that, although the band certainly has their sound, I don't get the feeling that their simply treading the same ground. Careless Love for example, has some pretty kooky tempo changes that keep things interesting while still remaining subtle enough not to detract from the overall feel. And finally, although the album does fall into the category of devastating break up album, it still ends on an upbeat high note with Honey In The Sun which contains a horn section that leaves me with a satisfying smile when the whole thing is done.

Camera Obscura are playing Lee's Palace on June 27th, 2009.

Myspace: Camera Obscura
Video: Franch Navy on youtube
Download: My Maudlin Career mp3


Other Stuff:
Stereogum is streaming a new Beastie Boys track that was released as a surprise bonus 7" with their recent Check Your Head reissue. The song has probably my favourite song title of the year so far: Lee Majors Come Again. [Myspace: Beastie Boys]

Arietta (who's new album Migration I reviewed yesterday) are interviewed on this week's Zygiella podcast. They're at The Horseshoe tomorrow night (May 7th) [Myspace: Arietta]

Nevado Records has announced the East vs West Tour featuring two of my faves The Paint Movement and Fox Jaws. It's an interesting idea: After playing a gig together in Sudbury on May 30th, the Jaws will head for the east coast, while the Movement will embark on the west coast. They'll be blogging their adventures at Exclaim.ca, and then uniting back in Toronto for a NXNE showcase. [Myspace: Fox Jaws, The Paint Movement]

Regina Spektor's new album Far is set to be released on June 22nd and it features the production work of none other than ELO's Jeff Lynne (among others.) Details on the album are over at Clash Mgazine. [Myspace: Regina Spektor]

Both Pete Nema and For The Records have reviews of last week's Dears show at The Mod Club. Their video for Disclaimer is relatively new and relatively cool also. [Myspace: The Dears]