Scotland's Camera Obscura returns with its infectious pop for a second U.S. tour
By Chris Nixon
For the San Diego Union-Tribune
July 13, 2006
Glasgow, Scotland, lies 5,000 miles across the Atlantic Ocean from sunny San Diego. But both cities sprouted bands at approximately the same time with the same name.
Glasgow's Camera Obscura plays shiny Brit pop with sweet female vocals by Tracyanne Campbell and textured, well-crafted songs. San Diego's Camera Obscura – now defunct – sported Duane Pitre (ex-Ilya, Pilotram) on guitar and cut one album (2000's “To Change the Shape of an Envelope”) of angular post-hardcore rock complete with boy-girl vocals.
Back in the late '90s, when San Diego's version of Camera Obscura still survived, the battle for band names got a bit personal.
“They threatened to kill us once; they sent us an e-mail,” admits Carey Lander, keyboard player and vocalist for the Scottish band. “But we played in San Diego before and they never showed up and killed us, so I guess hopefully the worst is over.”
Lander – along with vocalist Campbell, guitarist Kenny McKeeve, bassist Gavin Dunbar, drummer Lee Thomson and trumpet player Nigel Baillie – probably have little to fear from the San Diego musicians, since the group disbanded in 2000.
Lander added: “The people in San Diego were wonderful when we played there before at The Casbah. That was the first date of our tour the last time, so we were slightly jet-lagged.”
Camera Obscura gained notice in the United Kingdom with 2001's “Biggest Bluest Hi-Fi,” winning European fans over with its brand of sweet simple pop. “Underachievers Please Try Harder,” the band's first release in North America, set the stage for a round of touring that led to a show in 2004 at The Casbah.
From the romantic opening notes from Lander's organ on the opening song, “Lloyd, I'm Ready to Be Heartbroken,” 2006's “Let's Get Out of This Country” provides a pleasant journey through 10 tracks of infectious pop hooks. A fascination with retro songwriting craftsmanship runs through the entire album, evoking a nostalgic, wistful yearning for a return to strummy '60s American music.
Lander explains the album's title: “The name comes from the title track. And I guess it sums up the idea behind all of the songs: being tired of where you are and your situation. It's not really about being in a specific place. It's more about a feeling of frustration and boredom that you can have anywhere.”
After touring the U.S. for the first time in support of “Underachievers,” Landers and Camera Obscura found more love than death threats from the American audience.
“We were lucky enough that our first tour of the U.S. was a headlining tour and it went really well, so we're hoping this time will be even better,” said Landers, who will again take the stage at The Casbah on Tuesday. “America is definitely one of our favorite places to play.”
Chris Nixon is a San Diego music writer.
