"My Maudlin Career"
(4AD)
seven / ten
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CAMERA OBSCURA "My Maudlin Career" (4AD)
seven / ten |
The latest offering from Scottish outfit Camera Obscura is a gallant effort at the recreation of a classic 60's sound complete with tambourines, string quartets, walking bass lines and smoky vocals courtesy of the lovely Tracyanne Campbell.
My Maudlin Career is the perfect accompaniment to a rainy Sunday afternoon of melancholy and too much coffee. It's a cheery and bright album that would delight even the most cynical listener. Some of the lyrics leave a bit to be desired and come off as being a tad generic, sounding like a poem written by an eight year old such as "James he came to my place/he said he had to see my face", on the track 'James'.
The standout track 'French Navy' encompasses the tone for the whole album: a sing-a-long, swinesque track backed and backed with a strong string section, it's definitely the song that will be playing around in your head all day.
In places the album sounds a bit too musically dated, but in another way it makes it a quaint endeavour into the music of yesteryear and a reminder that Camera Obscura can still be creative with an old-type sound.
Miriam Le Bon
www.myspace.com/cameraobscuraband
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