CAMERA OBSCURA: LET'S GET OUT OF THIS COUNTRY (2006)
1) Lloyd, I'm Ready To Be
Heartbroken; 2) Tears For Affairs; 3) Come Back Margaret; 4) Dory Previn; 5)
The False Contender; 6) Let's Get Out Of This Country; 7) Country Mile; 8) If
Looks Could Kill; 9) I Need All The Friends I Can Get; 10) Razzle Dazzle Rose.
As their mentors and chief competitors opted
for revving up their sound a bit, and substituting the slow «chamber folk»
stuff of their early records for the upbeat electric pop melancholia of Dear Catastrophe Waitress (released
just one month after Camera Obscura's Underachievers)
and particularly The Life Pursuit,
Tracyanne and Co. had little choice but to follow — difficult to do otherwise
if you spend your time in a constant mind-meld with Stuart Murdoch.
And for one song out of ten at least, this
predictable turnaround worked its wonder: ʽLloyd, I'm Ready To Be Heartbrokenʼ,
maybe accidentally, maybe not, happens to be one of the most lovingly written,
arranged, and recorded pop songs of the decade. In order to get its title, you
must either be an educated connoisseur or somebody who kept a sharp ear out for
new sounds in the mid-Eighties, since it «echoes» back Lloyd Cole's largely
forgotten ʽAre You Ready To Be Heartbroken?ʼ from 1984 — but in reality, the
song works fine on its own, since, fortunately for us all, Tracyanne's lyrical
twists, no matter how obscure their points of reference, never sound like the primary attraction for her songs. In
fact, her charming voice acts as a perfect neutralizer for any «snob acid
burns» that the words might inflict upon a poor, innocent brain, not yet well
versed in the ocean of cultural trivia...
...where were we, anyway? Oh yes, ʽI'm Ready To
Be Heartbrokenʼ is a song that is simple, up to the point, repetitive, catchy,
and, despite being formally dedicated to issues of jealousy and disappointment,
radiates positive energy with all its might. Yes, even here, Camera Obscura's
serious artistic limitations are plainly evident. The little organ flourish
that leads in the main melody and then interrupts it again midway through seems
somewhat out of place. Build-up and development are non-existent: once you've heard
the first verse/chorus, you've heard it all, and there isn't even any bridge
section to play around with the dynamics. The lyrics are minimalistic, and you'd
think that at least the second line
of the chorus ("Hey Lloyd, I'm ready to be heartbroken / 'Cause I can't
see further than my own nose at this moment") could use some variation
over the multiple repetitions. In other words — no, not Beatleworthy. But
minimalistically beautiful all the same, with the strings taking upon
themselves the main burden of supplying the melody and the rock instruments
primarily supplying the rapid, powerful beat.
And most importantly, now that Campbell has
snapped out of her forever-somnambulist persona, it turns out that her voice is capable of loud, ringing modulation,
showing some technical and emotional range — the major chorus hook is all
dependent on starting on high ("Hey Lloyd..."), then, as if the
singer catches herself in embarrassment over getting too excited, going down on
the second line. Nothing too difficult or original about that, just a feeling
of healthy freshness, sunniness, and authenticity that cannot be shaked off by
any technical skepticism.
The feeling that, after two oh-so-nice, but ultimately
forgettable, albums, Camera Obscura may have finally struck gold almost
continues to linger on for the next track at least — ʽTears For Affairsʼ is
already slower, flabbier, and subtler than the opening bomb, but it is one more
example of Tracyanne continuing to experiment with her singing: the little
falsetto «curls» at the end of verse lines work as cunningly sexy punches, and
contrast effectively with the «reproaching» intonation of the chorus ("you
had to drive, look me in the eye, whisper don't cry..."). Again, the song
works on something more than pure atmosphere — finally, you get some elements
that stick out far enough to sink your analytical teeth into them.
Unfortunately, this feast of the senses does
not last for long, and by the time the third and fourth tracks come along, we
are largely back to the old mood-setting formula. The songs still tend to be
louder and deeper than they used to (probably courtesy of the band's new
producer, Jari Haapalainen, one of Sweden's indie heroes), but there is
nothing intelligent I could tell you about ʽDory Previnʼ except for redirecting
you to Wikipedia if you do not know who that is, or congratulating Tracyanne on
choosing sophisticated allegories for her own troubles with men if you do — musically,
the song is sort of a country-western-meets-baroque-pop mushy thing.
On a song-for-song basis, I count two more
relative successes. The title track brings back the lively tempo, the wall of
sound, throws in a nice variation on an all-too familiar folk-pop riff, and
probably expresses Campbell's personal philosophy better than everything else
on here (the line "I'll admit I am bored with me" hits particularly
hard). And the final number, ʽRazzle Dazzle Roseʼ, has a beautiful trumpet part
— same «elegant melancholia» style as everything else on the album, but
finally, with its own voice that stands out against the collective instrumental
drone.
If anything, this might just be Camera Obscura's weakest point: they are so in
love with their instruments that they always tend to cram them together, and
since they are playing different parts, the result is a lovably polyphonic, but
confusing sound where the very idea of a «lead instrument» is dismissed as
ridiculous. Why? They are perfectly capable of creating and playing a lovely
melody without having it dissolved in the overall noise, as the best of these
songs clearly demonstrate. Too many cooks, on the other hand, can do
unspeakable things to the broth.
Still, Let's
Get Out Of This Country is really as good as this band ever gets in its
hipster haze, and besides, let us show consistency — I've always preferred the
«upbeat» stage of Belle & Sebastian to their «drowsy» years, so why should
this be different for their most loyal disciples? Clearly a thumbs up
here, and ʽLloydʼ at least is a must-hear for fans of twee beauty worldwide.
Not too sure about the album cover, though — the hippie background does not
seem to mesh well enough with the «don't bother me, I'm listening to my
favorite college lecturer» look on the photo. But maybe that was just the
point.
Check "Let's Get Out Of This Country" (CD) on Amazon
Check "Let's Get Out Of This Country" (MP3) on Amazon
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