Camera Obscura's Upcoming My Maudlin Career

Since the beginning of it's career Camera Obscura has had some helping hands. And when those helping hands belong to famed and recently passed DJ John Peel and indie-pop legends Belle & Sebastian, well let's just say a lot of doors can get opened. Still, this was not a case of nepotism, just some high profile music personalities catching on to what plenty of others have learned over the past decade: Camera Obscura craft lush art-house pop meant just as much for Brooklyn rooftop parties as bedroom headphone-listens. More recent artists, from The New Pornographers to She & Him, owe something to Camera Obscura who took Belle & Sebastian's hushed chamber-pop and turned up the volume and gentility. These songs manage to bounce without wrinkling the fashionista duds they are dressed in. Classy, might be a good word to apply here, as everything about My Maudlin Career feels sophisticated and grown up like an orchestra approaching a pop record.

My Maudlin Career is by no means a departure, the songs are still sophisticated and unique. The tonal diversity and instrument selection is also apt and detailed, showing that the band are lucky enough to work with someone who knows their way around a studio as well as someone with a cache full of vintage musical equipment. The moods sway between longing and exaltation, setting moods for moon-lit dances and weekend escapes, you know, just what you've come to expect from Camera Obscura. And while the record's title may suggest a depress-fest full of tear-jerkers and woe-is-me laments, My Maudlin Career is peaceful and comforting like a soft pat on the back.

"The Sweetest Thing" starts of with some Beach Boy sway and Leonard Cohen exultation before settling into a oldies pop jam complete with Motown beat and weepy female vocal lines. "Away With Murder" approaches country ballad with its trotting percussion, clanging acoustic, and warm leads. "Swans" is a straight forward celebration that could fit on nearly any contemporary indie group's latest. "Other Towns and Cities" sounds like it was recorded in desolate cave with just one echoing guitar, and the results are chilling and beautiful.

There are some bands you can just count on to produce satisfying albums and Camera Obscura have become one of those groups. My Maudlin Career picks up right where the group left off, and that works out just fine when you craft tunes this expertly.