CAMERA OBSCURA My Maudlin Career (4AD)
Fans of this amazing Scottish band (and there are a handful that I personally know) can finally rejoice – their fourth and latest album My Maudlin Career was officially released last week. I’m fairly new to this brand of indie pop and was admittedly swept long with the tide of success from their pivotal previous album, Let’s Get Out of This Country (2006).
Having immersed myself in their warm and at times upbeat latest offering, I must confess that although it’s not a far stretch from their previous album, it does strongly charter a bolder presence lyrically and melodically. Even with a switch in their record label, the band wisely chose to work again with Swedish producer Jari Haapalainen (The Concretes, Peter, Björn & John). Probably attributing to some of the tracks being reminiscent of the previous album.
However the key element amidst Haapalainen’s masterful touch of layering the keyboards, horns and being very liberal with the saturation of echoes, is Tracyanne Campbell’s vocals. The band has been celebrated for connecting with its audience on a very personal level and this is largely due to Campbell’s ability to draw you into her world with her vulnerable, wistful voice and her first person narrative of situations, incidents, going as far as walking you through the stages of decisions made.
The album opens with its perky first single, French Navy, complete with hooks of string and horn arrangements. This is strongly followed by the harmonious The Sweetest Thing with Campbell sounding almost like Dusty Springfield as she sings “I’m going on a date tonight, to try to fall out of love with you..”. One can safely assume that the lyrical stance taken on all the tracks is one of a very personal nature. From start to finish, I found myself relating very strongly to Campbell’s dischanted/sensitive view of relationships and the manner in which they were conveyed. Not succumbing to the deluge of melancholy that might have easily been the album’s selling point, Camera Obsura instead builds a connection that eventually validates our voyeuristic tendencies and keeps it in check with Campbell’s sarcasm and wit in her lyrics.
My favourite tracks of the album are Away with Murder which begins with muffled drums and haunting keyboards. The very ballady and catchy James, which speaks of ex-partners missing the connection shared but dealing with the choices made – reminiscent of one of their earlier songs aptly titled, The Last Song. The title track My Maudlin Career opens with a beautiful early sixties feel to it and keeps it going with the help of raindrop-like notes from the keyboard and early Clapton-esque guitar style towards the end. The rest of the tracks have a pleasant Cowboy Junkies type aura to them save for the last track of the album Honey In the Sun which comes full circle, ending things perfectly with the same pace as the first track.
All in all this 11 track album moves at a pace much slower than the band’s previous one but what it sets the tone from the start so there aren’t any unpleasant surprises. Dare I say it, My Maudlin Career is fuller and richer and simmers with the maturity that can only come from a band that knows its audience.
(Charlotte Lourdes)
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