Camera Obscura – Desire Lines

After four years away, fans must have feared the worst when it came to Camera Obscura's future. But then, out of the blue, come s 'Desire Lines'. It is by no means the most striking album of the year, or the best of their career but is still a compelling and consistent effort.

One constant throughout the album, and Camera Obscura's lifespan is Tracyanne Campbell's beautiful vocals. On 'Desire Lines', Campbell utilises her unique yelps and gulps to lead the listener into tales of love and heartache. Being a thoughtful artist Campbell does not simply focus on the elation that comes with a new romance or the pain of a break up: she locks horns with the cloudier realms of relationships that are often indefinable leaving you murmuring under your breath 'that’s like me and (insert your own relationship role here…. This isn't Russia).

'Troublemaker' for instance, looks at the long term relationship where one half is settled and the other is itching to shake things up:

“Three years in and I call to crush what remains of this love
It's going to be one hell of a year.
Keeping secrets in water tight compartments, Dear
It's giving me the fear”

'Fifth In Line To The Throne' witnesses Campbell describing how the girlfriend/wife has been pushed down the pecking order of her partners affections for reasons unknown. The great thing about this song is how Campbell alludes to her female heroine not fully giving up on the relationship. It raises questions about the partner. Are they cheating? Have they just lost sight of what’s important? Are they an arsehole? Before you know it, you have become the storyteller and left the with doubt. 

Musically, the album treads very similar circles for the gang. There are nods to early Belle & Sebastian and Velvet Underground as usual but the quality is so high that the familiar Belle & Sebastian and Velvet Underground tones allows them to wander down pre-trodden paths and leave you feeling comforted rather than cheated. 'Do It Again' could have been part of Belle & Sebastian's classic 'Boy With The Arab Strap' with its upbeat jingle-jangle guitars and lyrics of a bygone era. Meanwhile, album closer and title-track 'Desire Lines' meanders beautifully like only the Underground could. Just when you think you have it pegged, in comes the slide guitar worthy of Emmylou Harris to take the song to another level.

Sadly, this album, as with Camera Obscura’s previous efforts, lacks the killer pop single to catapult them into the mind-sets of the mainstream. We at TT, feel this is a travesty as Campbell's vocals were made to be idolised by the masses. However, the freedom that they have been given on the indie circuit has produced some spellbinding song writing on 'Desire Lines'. You will go a long way to find an album that gets to the crux of a relationship that has nagging uncertainties and how people drift in and out of each other’s lives more than this one does. 'New Year's Resolution' and 'Desire Lines' are truly remarkable and we implore you all to invest in this album before the year is out.