Elsewhere on the internet I listed a bunch of my favourite artists, and
remarked that I could easily write a mini-essay about any of them. Someone
called me on this and demanded one on Camera Obscura. Thus. 

This article isn't a critique or a review of Camera Obscura; rather, it's an
attempt to explain why I love them. It will be (and I will seem) unbalanced. It
will gloss over their flaws. It might involve hyperbole. But it is all from the
heart. 

So how do I love thee? Let me count the ways. First up is the music. The upbeat
tracks bowl along with unbridled energy, the quieter tracks swing their hips
knowingly. I am a sucker for Scottish twee-pop, and Camera Obscura do it so
well. They're versatile, too: sometimes playing with Spector's wall of sound
(Hey Lloyd, I'm ready to be heartbroken), sometimes with a Leslie speaker
(Tears for Affairs), sometimes stripping things down to the barest of tracks
(Country Mile). 

Secondly is the vocals. The lyrics, yes, but the delivery is key too. When you
listen to the songs, don't you just want to date them? And if they're already
taken, Camera Obscura would be that awesome and funny friend who makes you
dinner when you get dumped. They're smart, and self-assured, yet endearingly
awkward. No booty-shaking insistence on cunnilingus here; rather, we have
forbidden love (Suspended From Class) and weird little threesomes (Come Back
Margeret) and impulsive trips to stave off the blues (Let's Get Out of This
Country). The sheer emotional fluency is a joy to behold. 

But perhaps the key to it all is the tranquility in their music despite the
emotional turmoil. Every track on Underachievers Please Try Harder is about
unhappy relationships, yet every track sounds centered. Listen to Maxïmo Park
(and I am sure they will get their own love letter soon) and you know they're
miserable; you can hear the stress in their voice and their music. Not so with
Camera Obscura. That's what at the core of their appeal, for me: they've got
the best of both worlds. They're trapped in a relationship with a drug addict;
crushing on their teacher; dealing with a messy breakup; and yet they're
cheerful. They're having a good time. They've got an interesting life and they
know how to roll with the punches that brings. They are never overwhelmed or
self-pitying or crying themselves to sleep. They take it as it comes. If you
listen to Destiny's Child's Survivor, you ask yourself: who are you trying to
convince? It's all implicit with Camera Obscura, and that's wonderful. 


Like the love for: the crush you have on your best friend's Bhuddist older sister.