Glasgow's melodramatic sextet Camera Obscura has been enjoying ever-growing popularity with each new album and their latest release, My Maudlin Career is yet another step in their evolution to the heights of pure pop bliss.
Being one of the brightest stars in the contemorary indie-pop scene, Camera Obscura subtly deviated from the lo-fi charm of their early releases and developed a rich and vibrant pop sound reminiscent of 1950s, still very fresh and modern.
Tracyanne Campbell's sweet songs are sodden with mellow sadness and sincere irony. Her beautiful voice and witty lyrics conquered hearts of music lovers all over the globe and gathered an impressive crowd at the Fillmore this month. One of the devoted fans even expressed bitter disappointment after the concert: "I always thoughts her songs are addressed to me, and there were all these people singing along and thinking same way."
Interview:
First of all, thanks for the wonderful show last night. Tracyanne mentioned on stage that San Francisco is her favorite place in the US and Camera Obscura has a song about the the city. We were expecting to hear it, but that was not to be.
Indeed, Tracyanne spent a lot of time in the city and eventually fell in love with it. As for the song, well it's a really old one and we're all to old to even remember the lyrics.
I know you're friends with Stuarch Murdoch of Belle & Sebastian. What do you think of his new project, God Help the Girl?
Oh, it's really good, we had a sneak preview a month ago and it's really fantastic. A couple of members of our band have been involved too. A little bit of guitar on one of the songs.
How is the overall touring experience in the US compared to playing shows in Britain?
It's completely different, in the US it's accompanied by this amazing travelling experience, meeting people and seeing places I've never been to before, so it's really exciting for all of us. We still love to play live back home, but I suppose when you're playing at familiar territoriy it doesn't have the same thrills.
For NOVO magazine.