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Frequently Bought Together
Product Details
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Track Listings
| 1. Lloyd, I'm Ready To Be Heartbroken |
| 2. Tears For Affairs |
| 3. Come Back Margaret |
| 4. Dory Previn |
| 5. The False Contender |
| 6. Let's Get Out Of This Country |
| 7. Country Mile |
| 8. If Looks Could Kill |
| 9. I Need All The Friends I Can Get |
| 10. Razzle Dazzle Rose |
Product Description
From Amazon.com
Literate, recombinant indie-pop doesn't get much better than Scottish act Camera Obscura. And Let's Get Out of This Country, their third album, is easily their best yet. The male-female vocals of their first two albums are gone, as John Henderson's left the band. But as the album was recorded in Sweden with Jari Haapalainen, the dude who helped the Concretes achieve their Spector-ish, candy-coated sheen, the same charms are at work here. "Dory Previn" is a slow country rocker that recalls the pastoral sound of the sorely-missed band Opal, while other songs are more organ-driven and rollicking. Lead singer-songwriter Tracyanne Campbell's lyrics are smart, wonderful, and direct ("You can't see that you're the same as all the stupid people that you hate / I'm not saying I'm free from blame because I need all the friends I can get"). This is orchestral pop that's immaculately produced and fun as hell, even though the protagonists of the songs readily, almost selflessly dive into the sloppiest of romantic situations ("I've got my life of complication here to sort out"). --Mike McGonigal
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Customer Reviews
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Most helpful customer reviews
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
4.0 out of 5 stars
Get ready to be heartbroken,
By E. A Solinas "ea_solinas" (MD USA) - See all my reviews (HALL OF FAME) (TOP 10 REVIEWER) (REAL NAME)
This review is from: Lets Get Out Of This Country (Audio CD)
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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Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta) Amazon.com:
4.2 out of 5 stars (32 customer reviews) 40 of 42 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
Best Camera Obscura to Date,
By M. JEFFREY MCMAHON "herculodge" - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: Lets Get Out Of This Country (Audio CD)
I've been a fan of Camera Obscura for a couple years now, buying some select tunes off the Internet, but found I had to buy the whole album here because every song is a gem. Description: Bright, nostalgic, melancholic dream pop with wistful female vocals. Great travel music for winding up and down the Italian coast with the top down (or at least pretend to). I hear elements of The Sundays, The Smiths, Belle & Sebestian, Beaumont, Lovejoy, St. Etienne, The Clientele, and Radio Dept. If you want an introduction to Camera Obscura, this is a great place to begin.
30 of 34 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
By far the best Camera Obscura album yet,
By Robert Moore - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: Lets Get Out Of This Country (Audio CD)
This is simply one of the loveliest albums you will ever hope to hear. Tracyanne Campbell and her band mates in Camera Obscura have labored under the shadow of their fellow Glasgow musicians Belle and Sebastian. It doesn't help that like Belle and Sebastian their songs are more softly edged and lyrical than most other rock bands. But although there is a superficial resemblance between the two bands, especially when Imogen Campbell takes the vocals instead of Murdoch, there are also significant differences. Campbell is a far more delicate songwriter than Stuart Murdoch and her compositions are far more delicate. She lacks his brilliant quirkiness and astonishing gift for melody, though her songs frequently feature very fine melodies. But Murdoch is probably the finest melodist in music today, so the comparison is unfair to her. On the other hand, most of Campbell's lyrics express emotions that I can relate to far more easily than Murdoch's. He may be the greater artist, but she lives pretty much where I do.Camera Obscura turned out two very good albums before this one, but this is easily their best effort yet. All of the songs are consistently excellent and Campbell's lovely voice graces everyone. She is a remarkably subtle singer, very gifted in her phrasing and expression. But as fine as she is as a singer, she is better as a songwriter. I like a lot of the cuts on this disc, in particular "I Need All the Friends I Can Get" and the truly sad "Dory Previn," about the young Mia Farrow breaking up her and Andre Previn's marriage. But my favorite cut by far is the extraordinary "Lloyd, I'm Ready to Be Heartbroken," named for one of Lloyd Cole's best songs on his classic album RATTLESNAKES, "Are You Ready to Be Heartbroken?" All in all, this is one of my favorite albums of the year so far. I think it will appeal strongly to anyone who loves Belle and Sebastian, but also to people who are drawn to Mazzy Star. The album possesses much of the same wistfulness and longing found on their albums. Basically, if you love wonderfully subtle and magnificently fragile music, this is going to win your heart. 8 of 8 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
Bringing back the good stuff!,
By Loverboy - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: Lets Get Out Of This Country (Audio CD)
Well, I'm always searching for great new music, from early 1900s jazz to modern experimental electronica. I LOVE early 60s music, so this band really stands out to me. This album has a great late 1950s-early 60s pop/bop/folk/motown/rock flavor to it; The vintage sounds as well as the progessions and melodies. There is a really honest feeling to the vocals that I don't hear in much music since the turn of the century. I liked it the instant i heard it. It makes me think of the Smiths with a female singer and a more vintage sound. Nothing wrong with that!
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