A Camp (A Camp - A Camp)

Member Name: Lichfield1979

Product:	A Camp - A Camp
Date:	19/09/08 (116 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: I Can Buy You

Disadvantages: A lot of filler

A Camp

This record is actually a solo project from Cardigans singer Nina Persson, working with producer Mark Linkous, also known as Sparklehorse, another one-man-band. Her picture is on the front of the record even if her name is not, and the record company has helpfully added a sticker explaining who done it. Husband Nathan Larson and song writing partner Niclas Frisk make substantial contributions and the drummer is from Guided By Voices. The array of instruments used on the record is mind-boggling. A Camp seems to serve as either a band name or pseudonym or album title or all three. It's probably the best Swedish alt-country record of 2001. A sequel is planned for 2009 with entirely different influences. Lets not dwell on any of this any further.

One - Frequent Flyer

Linkous says hello immediately with some sonic noodles that for once sound as warm as the prairie wind. I am wondering if this is what a theremin might sound like. Nina Persson's voice is bright and clear like the big sky. The atmospheric arrangements are complimented by a grand piano towards the end. The lyrics are about travelling huge distances but never being able to get close enough. "I'm a frequent flyer / A notorious liar."

Two - I Can Buy You

This is one of the most sumptuously gorgeous singles of the decade, from the first wistful note of harmonica to the final fade out of the strings. The melody is warm and generous and the lyrics are smart: "A life of sanity and dignity you know it takes two / and what's the use of being a millionaire if can't have you?" The vocal is dreamily coming down from a relationship.

Three - Angel Of Sadness

A sadder slower song with a sweet vocal and a twanging riff and some pedal steel guitar. The drums are programmed more for atmosphere than for rhythm. The song sounds full of light.

Four - Such A Bad Comedown

This song roams into the realms of electronica although there are more naturalistic sounding string instruments in there too. I'm not wholly won over by the sound or the composition. The lyrics are about drugs. The vocal is more affected than before and has been fed through production effects.

Five - Song For The Leftovers

A lyrical love ballad carried by Persson's voice, backed by keyboards and then drums and eventually violin, cello and cornet. The words aren't all that striking but really it's all about the delivery and the soft jazz arrangement. The mood is calm and comfortable for the moment.

Six - Walking The Cow

Linkous gives Persson a Daniel Johnston song to cover and she probably makes it sound too elegant no matter how scratchy they make her vocal sound or how much distorted fuzz they mix up in the production booth to contrast the more crystal clear moments. "Lucky stars in your eyes / I'm walking the cow."

Seven - Hard As A Stone

Bass and drums attempt to build up a dirty swagger but there's not enough feeling in the rhythm and the vocal sounds oddly tuneless. The band seem to be going for a sound something like the Rolling Stones on Sympathy for the Devil but with more of a punk attitude. I'm not really convinced by it though.

Eight - Algebra

I find the lyrics a bit laboured on this one and the vocal is languorous. Fortunately the musicians do come to life with twelve different instruments although the composition of the song itself is questionable.

Nine - Silent Night

Let's be kind and say it's not up there with the Simon & Garfunkle tune of the same name. Again the music is atmospheric and uses a wide range of instruments but the tune isn't really compelling enough.

Ten - The Same Old Song

Returns to a similar vocal and musical style to track four and fails to sound much more convincing here either. No amount of musicianship is going to conceal the weakness of the song writing and so the jazz styling fails to sound plausible. Also seems to want to have a couple of I Am The Walrus Moments if you ask me. The drum programming is laid on too thick and the riffs get pretty melodramatic by the end. Rhythmically it's boring.

Eleven - The Oddness Of The Lord

A lumbering three and a half minutes of electronic noise with a rather flat riff echoing repetitively throughout. Persson's voice just doesn't work very well when she underplays her technical strengths and tries to rough everything up. When Linkous sings for Sparklehorse he knows how to suit his voice to sound abrasive or vulnerable as the song fits but here he's just not getting a performance from her when they try that. Persson asked him to produce after she and Frisk tried to do it themselves, so I'd hate to hear what those tapes sounded like. She should have asked Linkous to write with her.

Twelve - Rock 'N' Roll Ghost

This is a cover version of the song Paul Westerberg wrote for The Replacements and although it's not the most inspired interpretation thankfully Nina's back to singing in her natural voice. It's one of the most conventional band line-ups on the record and they make gentle spooky country music with piano and pedal steel guitar.

Thirteen - The Bluest Eyes In Texas

This cover version on the other hand is exceptional even if at times the vocals unexpectedly sound a lot like Wilson Philips or The Bangles. There's a big sturdy guitar solo although it has a very distinctive voice to it. Rhythmically the song is perhaps a bit too anodyne. The source of the material is the slightly obscure country band BlackHawk. Here the performance is much more haunted and elegiacal. As much as I like it I don't know if it needs to be five minutes long. This is probably the other track I listen to when I put the CD on to listen to "I Can Buy You" although "Frequent Flyer" is good too, but usually I skip that to get straight to "I Can Buy You."

Fourteen - Elephant

This is the only song on the record Linkous takes co-writing credit for and it shows immediately. "I caught you smiling with pointed teeth / what was beautiful has turned bitter and cheap" sounds like a Sparklehorse lyric and the melody does too. The sonic layers build up with more ambition and purpose than elsewhere and the way the loud, risingly noisy textures dissolve to leave only the simple piano chords that began the song, before they just stop, is very well done too, although it's a slightly curious and abrupt way to finish the whole record. Persson sounds soft and sad and searching and pretty.


There are too many misfires on this record and some of the rest is fairly mediocre but I'd say there are still about eight decent songs, one of which, I Can Buy You, is truly phenomenal.

Summary: Hits some genuine highs but doesn't really cohere into a great collection of songs as a whole