Stormy Skies, Sunny Weather

Scotland's Camera Obscura Returns To Athens To Peddle Its Pretty Pop

originally published January 17, 2007

Twee is not the point here, or, at least, if you're going to label Camera Obscura “twee,” then you have to admit that the word is meaningless. On the group's most recent album, Let's Get Out of This Country, it has moved into a wide-open space, filled with longing and big cloudy skies. It's a meeting of Phil Spector's claustrophobic wham and Dusty Springfield's more mournful moments, which may mean it's about femininity and feminism in the context of love. Analysis aside, it's also darn pretty - perhaps the prettiest record released in 2006, down to the cover art.

Formed in 1996, the band's lineup eventually blossomed to six: Tracyanne Campbell (guitar, vocals), Carey Lander (piano, organ, vocals), Kenny McKeeve (guitar, mandolin, harmonica, vocals), Gavin Dunbar (bass), Lee Thomson (drums) and Nigel Baillie (trumpet, percussion). The debut album Biggest Bluest Hi Fi hit in 2000, followed by several more in an impressive pop lineage resulting in last year's Let's Get Out of This Country.

The time change between the United States and Scotland can be difficult to deal with, so instead of chatting on the phone, Flagpole fired a barrage of questions over email to Carey Lander, which she kindly deigned to answer, extra English U's and all.

Flagpole

I know it seems ridiculous to characterize music as sounding like it's from one country or another, but there's something very American-sounding about the new album to me. Do you think that's accurate? Is it just that Scotland and America have some crucial elements in common?

Carey Lander

I’m not sure I hear the album as sounding American, although we are influenced by lots of American music. For us, it is very tied up with Sweden because we visited there while writing the album and it was recorded there with a Swedish producer. I think usually when people draw parallels between countries in music, it relates to the weather. Anywhere that has a lot of miserable weather like Scotland, Sweden and I guess parts of America, seems to inspire people to make music (and drink a lot) as a form of escapism.

Flagpole

Judging by your album covers, videos, photo shoots, etc., you seem to be a band that cares a fair amount about visual aesthetics. What influences would you say you have in that area? (Jacques Demy? Wallpaper magazine?)

Carey Lander

We do care about the artwork, it's part of the record and the overall aesthetic of the album. It’s what makes owning a record in physical form infinitely more special than a collection of downloads. We’ve always used people we know as models, which I think makes it feel like a more genuine statement than if we used professionals.

We’re often inspired by record artwork of the past and how it has become so iconic. The inspiration for the single cover and video for Let’s Get Out of This Country was a photograph of Tracyanne on holiday in Mull, and a picture the photographer showed us of the Highland Clearances where lots of Scots left the country for America.

It's kind of funny about the wallpaper we used on the album. It just happened to be up in the shop where we the cover photo was taken; we assumed it was vintage, and then it turns out to be this really popular wallpaper by London designers that keeps appearing everywhere.

Carey Lander checks her email backstage during a recent visit to the 40 Watt.

Flagpole

I keep getting into a mild argument with people about what "Lloyd, I'm Ready to Be Heartbroken" is about. Is it about the beginning of a relationship or the end of one, and do you think it can be interpreted both ways?

Carey Lander

Tracyanne would say it is about the end of a relationship, although I would agree that it is really about both, because it seems to be about facing up to the pain of ending one in order to start it all over again with someone else.

Flagpole

What's different about your live presence versus your recorded presence as a band?

Carey Lander

We try to recreate as many of the parts of the songs live as we can, but we can't manage everything, so there are no string parts live, but I don't think people miss them too much. We're getting better at the live thing, but I don't think we'll ever stop feeling a bit self-conscious. I think it probably comes across in our recorded music, too.

Flagpole

I'm really impressed with the band's online presence. You have a blog, an impressive MySpace page, and a really great webpage, as well, with areas for each member to convey his or her cultural obsessions. How much input did you guys have into the design? What do you think about MySpace and the Internet in general as far as its influence on contemporary music?

Carey Lander

I’m glad you think so. It took us ages to get a decent website sorted out. Unfortunately, none of us are know what we’re doing with web design, but we found somebody who listened to the band and understood our aesthetic and came up with the design, which we tweaked.

The band want to make an effort to use the Internet as a point of contact with the fans because we feel like we owe them a lot. There are people who have supported us and come out to see us play for nearly 10 years and we won’t forget it. MySpace is a strange fad, but I like the ease it presents in listening to music as a way of discovering bands. To me, it also seems quite pointless for bands to have a page if they’re never involved with it. We always try to reply to everybody who writes to us, if possible.

Flagpole

One of the things I learned from your website is how much you all like making compilation tapes. Do you think there's something fundamentally different about making a tape versus making a CD? How big is your record collection?

Carey Lander

Making compilation tapes is a self-consciously retro thing to do these days, you can’t dismiss how long it takes. Hours and hours of tweaking to get everything to fit on perfectly. A labour of love for someone you love. Making a CD is easier and more practical, but considerably less romantic.

I can’t quite remember how big my record collection is, because most of it is in storage at the moment. While I can’t imagine ever losing my enthusiasm for buying records, I don’t like the idea of having thousands and thousands and not being familiar with them.

Flagpole

What's the weirdest thing about doing a big tour in America?

Carey Lander

The length of the drives, I think. It takes some getting used to. In Britain, we complain about driving nine hours from Glasgow to London, in America that’s nothing. Saying that, the drives through Texas and Montana are some of my favourite parts of touring there.

Flagpole

What do you think about the South?

Carey Lander

I like what I’ve seen, although I appreciate there is a lot to the South that we haven’t experienced. I like the lazier pace of life, but I don’t like how everybody drives everywhere and it's impossible to walk. We tried to walk to Borders from our hotel in North Carolina once, it was less than a mile, but it took us ages, risking death on the freeway and up to our hips in long grass.

Hillary Brown

WHO: Camera Obscura, M Coast
WHERE: 40 Watt Club
WHEN: Friday, January 19
HOW MUCH: $12