Is it Maudlin, no its Traceyann (My Maudlin Career - Camera Obscura)

Member Name: duskmaiden

Product:	My Maudlin Career - Camera Obscura
Date:	04/05/09 (216 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: stunningly beautiful, timeless songs, beautiful vocals

Disadvantages: some lame rhymns, a couple of week tracks

Camera Obscura are one of those bands that seem to be just bubbling under the surface in that ocean we call the music big time. The Scottish sextet have gathered critical acclaim and were favourites of the late great John peel (RIP) and more recently Dermott O'Leary. You may have heard them without hearing of them as their track "Country Mile" was featured on a Tesco advert. I became a fan of them after hearing their 2006 album "Let's Get Out of this Country" being impressed by the well crafted classical pop songs and especially Traceyanne Campbell's beautiful dreamy vocals. Would thee follow up album the wonderfully titled "My Maudlin Career" live up to my high expectations and will it be the album to break them to the mass market and hit the big time.

Camera Obscura write and perform classy, timeless grown up pop songs with sublime melodies, harmonies featuring wonderful string and horn arrangements. I suppose the easiest comparison to make is with Belle and Sebastian but Bacarrach and David springs to mind in places. They are quite easy listening in a good way y so "My Maudlin Career" is an ideal album to sit back and relax whilst you hum along to some of the catchy melodies. And shed a tear to campbell's troubled love life. Shame about some of the rhyming in the lyrics "oo and do" in French Navy" and blue, true, do and you" in "You Told a Lie" and "Miles and smiles" in "The Sweetest thing"



"We met by a trick of fate, French Navy my sailor mate"

French Navy, the first single from the album and opening track certainly has a flavour of the 60s from Campbell's effortlessly classy vocals, to the fabulous strings flourishes ()all the strings and horns were brilliantly arranged by Bjorn Yttling of Peter Bjorn & John) and a really bouncy rhythm. Its one of the more up beat songs on the album and has a nice pace to it. Its a tale of the giddiness and blindness of new love and the regrets when it all falls fell "Love I wanted to control it, I could not hold it" Its a major theme as the other thing Camera Obscura do well is bittersweet break up ballads. "My Maudlin Career" career can get very maudlin and depressing as Campbell writes about various lost loves and break ups.

"You challenged me to write a love song Here it is, I think I got it wrong
I focused on the negative The pain was too much to write and sing "

The Sweetest thing is not a cover of the U2 song thank goodness. Its a very pretty but melancholic break up song with a harmonised oohed introduction which again is sheer class. II love the lyric about going on a date tonight to fall out of love with you. As I can empathise with it so much and the line referencing Paul Simon's "Fifty ways top Leave your Lover" when the lover has left is a nice touch.

Another song another great introduction. Traceyanne sings sweetly and clearly almost accapella for th first verse of "I Told a Lie" before the band kicks in for a downbeat number with a country feel to it and a shuffling beat. Its fairly pretty but I would say it is one of the weaker, less memorable tracks on the album.


"How many times have you told me I wanted to die"

I love bands that sing in their own accents and Campbell certainly does on "Away With Murder" . With her doing her best Taggert impression when she sings "Murder". I also love the intonation on strong and wrong. It's Scottish but not overpoweringly so ala Glasvegas or the Proclaimers. Its a very downbeat song with a nice chiming organ in the background and subtle fiddle but again is one that floats away in the background very nicely.

If you don't hum along to the jaunty introduction hook of "Swans" you must be dread as the guitar, and bell like percussion (could be a xylophone" is so catchy and puts a smile on my face. Its a simple song and more cheerful and upbeat than most of the songs. Camera Obscura do mournful well but when they are up beat they are spectacular.

On my first couple of listens "James" was one of the tracks that really stood out for me. I may say this about half Camera Obscura's songs but it is stunningly beautiful, heartbreaking and touching. Campbell's vocals are particularly dreamy and melancholy. The melody is mellifluous with the instrumentation being very understated fitting the song. I'm wondering if the James is the James Simpson Dunbar the album is deicted to. The only weak point is the rhyming with face and place". Its just an absolutely gorgeous song.

Its is the sweeping lush strings hat are the highlight of "Careless Love" . Its another very laid back mellow song with Campbell's vocals being particularity weary and languid as she sings of not being able to be friends with a lost love but perhaps she'll try again.

"I'll brace myself for the loneliness. Say hello to feelings that I despise"

The title track "My Maudlin Career" heads back to a sixties vibe with some very interesting keyboard work. I especially like the lyric "your kisses give me concussion". Its a a particularly strong image. Its misery after misery with misplaced love ("this maudlin career has come to an end, I don't want to be sad again") but misery never sounded so sweet.

We head for the woods with "Forest and Trees" a laid back country style song complete with steel guitar. Unfortunately its another of the weaker tracks than does not grab my attention in the slightest as it lacks really distinctive vocals or melodies. It just seems to go nowhere.


Luckily the standard is raised with "Other Towns and Cities ". This in a strange way really reminds me of "Country Mile" on "Lets Get Out of this Country". This song about dangerous love is just bewitching. I love the vocal on this one, as it is so pure, clear but also a little bit distant. There's also a real yearning tone to them. I think its one of the best vocals on the album. The instrumentation is very simple and stark with a simple guitar accompanying the vocal.

The tempo is cranked up with a brass arrangement for the last number of the album"Honey in the Sun" and we are back to timeless sixties pop with maybe just a tiny hint of Latin in the background. Its a great closer to the album.

I was slightly disappointed with "My Maudlin Career" on the first couple of listens, as the pace seems to be more mellow on this album compared to "Let's Get Out of This Country" and felt that the more up tempo catchier songs such as "Let's Get Out of this Country and "Lloyd are you Ready to be Heartbroken" weren't there. On further listens I have found a lot to love about this album full of heartbreakingly beautiful, bittersweet ballads and timeless tunes with Campbell's breathtakingly mournful vocals being the star of the show. I said it once but I will say it again misery has never sounded so sweet as on "My Maudlin Career"

Summary: beautiful ballads from the Scottish sextet