Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
My first experice of this band was a rewarding one. , 1 Dec 2006
This is the third offering form Indie Scottish alterative band "Camera Obsurca" and is cut form a similar cloth to the also Scottish based alterative band "Belle And Sebastian".
"Lets Get Out Of This Country" is like listen to a dream burned into a disc, its ten songs are lush, well though out and extremely well crafted songs.
The album opens with "Hey Lloyd I am Ready To Be Heartbroken" floats along on strings which is aided by the soft vocals that match.
Just as your getting used to the soft sounding songs, "lets get out of this country", is positioned in the perfect place as it acts as much needed alarm clock, to wake the listener up.
Then " Country mile" is puts listener back into the dreamy landscape of pervious songs, before "If Looks Could Kill" throws you out of the dream landscape once more.
In a lot of songs the dream like structure of the songs hides the pain of the lead singer. You can listen to this as nice meandering piece of ear candy, which it dose brilliantly.
If you pay attention to the lyrics you will notice that juxtaposes painful lyrics with soft meandering music, which adds a emotional gravities to the whole record, chaining the tone of the whole album.
Never having really heard of the band until know, this album provided a pleasant surprise, as there are many bands that I have heard this year that have a released great singles, but the album was, less then fulfilling.
It really good when you hear an album that on first time listening to it, you are wowed by how good it is and how different it sounds to anything else around, hats off to this Scott based alternative band, get this album, you shouldn't be disappointed.
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11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Your new favourite band, 23 Jun 2006
This is a truly wonderful album that will be the soundtrack to my summer, and deserves to be heard blarring out of windows and cars everywhere.
I've had Underachievers... for a while, and whilst it was enjoyable it never became a must-play record. But Let's Get... has instantly seized control of my iPod. Surely Hey Lloyd & Tell Me Where It All Went Wrong would be number 1 for 10 weeks each in an ideal world.
On an initial listen it appears similar to Underachievers... - a touch of 50s/early 60s American pop, some joyful happy adrenalin rush pop. But after a few listens it's apparent that it is all that Underachievers... was but much much more - better songs, better instrumentation, better lyrics, better vocals - not a weakness on there.
A poor man's Belle & Sebastian? Pah!! This record wipes the floor with The Life Persuit, and is the record that you hoped The Concretes In Colour could have been.
Camera Obscura - your new favourite band, making the world a happier place.
(In case you're not sure - I quite liked this record)
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11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Get ready to be heartbroken, 6 April 2007
Breaking up is painful and miserable, though sometimes necessary. And evidently that's what was on the mind of Camera Obscura as they created "Let's Get Out of This Country." These Scottish indiepoppers created a smooth, nostalgic, rippling little pop gem full of doleful emotion, and boy does it feel good.
The opening song "Lloyd I'm Ready to Be Heartbroken" is a deliciously catchy pop number full of soaring strings and rattly tambourine, which is a response to Lloyd Cole's "Are You Ready To Be Heartbroken?" Most of it, though, is just about a girl who has "a life of complication to sort out."
It's followed up by the folky, accordion-riddled little melody of "Tears For Affairs," an anguished little song played in a very peppy, upbeat manner. That is the basic template for the songs on this album: frolicking catchy indiepop, warm ballads, rippling organ rockers, bouncy alt-rock, and ambient, wintry pop filled with strings.
And every single one is about breaking up with someone, cheating on someone, or leaving someone behind.
Camera Obscura are always working to break out of Belle & Sebastian's shadow, since they're both quirky chamberpop bands from Scotland. But "Let's Get Out of This Country" shows that their music is of a totally different kind -- it's darker, less pensive and bookish, and more filled with raw emotion.
The music is overflowing with peppy instrumentation -- violin, trumpet, tambourine, some mandolin and subtle accordion laid over the basic bouncy guitars and drums. And of course, there's warm waves of organ adding a colourful edge, and helping to accentuate just how fun and pretty the music is.
Until you actually listen to the words: all of them are sad and anguished, except maybe the cryptic "Razzle Dazzle Rose, which seems a bit out of place here. All of it is in Tracyanne Campbell's pretty mellow voice. "Come back Margaret, he wants to adore you/Come back Margaret, I'd like to explore you/Can't you see the tears in my eyes/With love for him I disguise?"
"Let's Get Out of this Country" is the sprightliest album ever to be filled with woe and relationship misery, and Camera Obscura did a brilliant job linking the two sounds. Definitely worth hearing.
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