Camera Obscura delights Brooklyn with pure pop perfection

March 24, 2009, at the Bell House

By Eleanor Whitney
Published: March 27th, 2009 | 11:50am

On its first venture back to New York since the summer of 2007, the Glasgow-based, seven-member-strong Camera Obscura generated wild applause simply by walking on stage and uttering a very Scottish-sounding “Hello.” Lead singer and guitarist Tracyanne Campbell was dressed the vintage part with a sparkly dress, red tights, and black pumps — the perfect compliment to the band’s sway-worthy tracks.

The set opened set with “My Maudlin Career,” the title track from the band’s forthcoming album on 4AD. The song featured the group’s signature pretty melodies and multiple tambourines. The set was heavy on selections from the new album, which features introspective lyrics about long-distance love, touring, and relationships gone sour, all wrapped up in shimmering ’60s-style harmonies. A highlight was “French Navy,” the album’s opening track that featured perfectly timed breaks, a trumpet, and Campbell shaking an avocado-shaped noisemaker. Another highlight was Maudlin’s “Honey In The Sun,” which was a radiant burst of sunny pop from the opening harmonies. The more down-tempo numbers, like “Swans” and “James,” showcased Campbell’s powerful vocals that, with their impressive range and depth, lifted the band out of its twee tendencies. Indeed, songs such as “The Sweetest Thing” had a soul-like quality, a departure from the band’s earlier material.

The band was grateful but soft-spoken in the way of the Scots for most of the set. At one point they opened up, as Campbell explained how when the band was in New York, and only in New York, the musicians’ accents caused them to be misunderstood. She went on to imitate a New York accent, nasally whining “Downtown” to shouted laughter and applause from the crowd. “I thought New Yorkers weren’t ignorant,” she joked, drawing further cheers.

The end of the set featured more “golden oldies,” as Campbell dubbed them. On “Lloyd, I’m Ready to be Heartbroken,” the entire audience of Brooklynites sang along with striking conviction. While the old songs were lots of fun and real crowd pleasers, live they came across as less developed than the newer ones. Wanting to satisfy the fans, Camera Obscura played a two-song encore of oldies “Teenager” and “Razzle Dazzle Rose,” a lovely pop song that ended up in an energetic, pulsating build up. Leaving behind an energetic, cheering crowd looking forward to the band’s next New York appearance, Camera Obscura showed that it has, at least in Brooklyn, earned its place in the Glasgow pantheon of pop luminaries.

For more photos from this show visit Venus Zine's Flickr page
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