A refreshing injection of indie pop melodies spread through the famous Barrowland Ballroom tonight as we witness the final night of a UK tour from Glasgow’s own Camera Obscura in support of their brand new album ‘Look to the East, Look to the West’.
With the band now endowed with a total of six studio albums under their belt I think it’s fair to say that they truly are masters of their genre, and it shows on a brightly lit stage as lead singer’s Tracyanne Campbell’s familiar, comforting vocals captivate the crowd as the band perform first track of the night ‘Liberty Print’.
The band maintane a relatively static stage presence and keep things musically tight, perfecting each and every note to a sold out audience. With warm reverb, guitar slides and light drums brushing the music along. It’s sweet music to the ears and oh so easy listening (in a good way!). Take any one of these songs from the new album; or any other one of there back catalogue for that matter and it would make the perfect sound track to a romantic film, or perhaps right now to the life of the long haired, Slowdive T-Shirt wearing couple to my right who have been dancing and swaying since the band came on stage. Oh – and a special shout out to the older gentlemen wearing the CBGB top! I never told you at the time but I secretly thought you were cool (which you probably already knew about yourself). Camera Obscura have got a distinctive sound and for some strange reason I can’t quite put my finger on, their fans are a personification of that.
Campbell goes on to thank the crowd for helping them sell out the Barrowlands and achieve a spot in the UK top 40 official albums chart, “not bad for a bunch of fifty year olds”. Well, I can only agree with that statement. The band has created music that is timeless and will always be relevant to you, to me and to anyone listening – no matter how old.
Light reflecting from a silver disco ball paints the room like a starry night when track ‘This is Love (Feels Alright)’ is performed. The keyboard, the triangle and dreamy dreamy vocals can be heard on for this one – brilliant. The audience and the band soak up the rest of the night with uplifting music before the band jet sets off at the end of May to start the US leg of their tour.
Overall, the band put on an amazing show and I can happily look back and say I was lucky enough to attend. On record, tracks from this band are great, but live, they add something that just wraps you up to create a warm fuzzy feeling.
If you’re a fan of having a good time, Get out and go and see Camera Obscura play live whenever you get the chance – they next play Glasgow in August at the newly curated ‘Glasgow Weekender’ alongside loads of other great Scottish bands such as Walt Disco, Belle and Sebastian and The Joy Hotel, to name a few.
Words and pictures: Rose McEnroe @rosemcenroephoto