Camera Obscura Announce First New album In 11 Years & tour, Share Video For New Song 'Big Love'
Look East, Look West Out May 3 via Merge
January 30, 2024
Photo by Robert Perry
Scottish indie-pop band Camera Obscura have announced their first new album in 11 years. Look East, Look West, and shared his first single, “Big Love,” via a music video. They also announced some new North American tour dates. Look East, Look West is expected to be released on May 3 via Merge. Below, watch the “Big Love” video and see the tracklist and album art, as well as tour dates.
Camera Obscura released their first three albums through Merge, before switching to 4AD for their last two albums. The band has not released a new album since 2013 Desire Lineslargely due to the tragic and untimely death from cancer of founding member and keyboardist Carey Lander in 2015. Last year the band announced their return to Merge and announced some UK tour dates.
Frontwoman Tracyanne Campbell had a side-project, Tracyanne & Danny, with Danny Coughlan, which released a self-titled album in 2018 through Merge.
The band features founding members Tracyanne Campbell (vocals and guitar), Kenny McKeeve (guitar and vocals), Gavin Dunbar (bass) and Lee Thomson (drums and percussion), along with newest member Donna Maciocia (keyboards and vocals). Maciocia he also became a regular songwriting partner with Campbell.
Jari Haapalainen, who produced her 2006 album Camera Obscura Let's get out of this country and of 2009 My maudlin careerreturned for production Look East, Look West, which was recorded in the same room where Queen wrote 'Bohemian Rhapsody'. A press release says the album sees the band go somewhat back to basics, with no strings or brass arrangements.
The album's first single, the country-inflected “Big Love”, is described as “a breakup anthem” and features pedal steel played by Tim Davidson.
“'Big Love' is our tribute to Waylon Jennings, with a nod to Sandy Denny and the prog rock band Scope,” Campbell says in the press release. “It's a song about not looking back, having faith in the present and the future.”
Read our 2006 interview with Camera Obscura.
Read our 2010 interview with Camera Obscura.
Read our 2010 interview with Tracyanne Campbell of Camera Obscura Grease.
Read our 2013 interview with Camera Obscura.
Read our 2013 joint interview between Tracyanne Campbell and Lloyd Cole.
Read our 2014 Artist Survey interview with Camera Obscura's Carey Lander.
Read our 2018 interview with Tracyanne and Danny.
Read our interview about my favorite album of 2020 with Tracyanne Campbell.
Look East, Look West Track List:
1. Liberty Print
2. We will make it in a man's world
3. Great Love
4. Just a dream
5. The Light Nights
6. Sleepwalking
7. Baby Huey (Hard Times)
8. Denon
9. Pop Goes Pop
10. Sugar almond
11. Look East, Look West
Camera Obscura 2024 tour Dates: Thu 2nd May – Hebden Bridge, UK @ The Trades Club
Sat. May 4th – Leeds, UK @ Stylus
Mon 6th May – Manchester, UK @ Academy 2
Tue 7th May – London, UK @ Koko
Thu 9th May – Brighton, UK @ Concorde 2
Fri 10 May – Birmingham, UK @ O2 Academy 2
Sat. May 11 – Glasgow, UK @ Barrowland Ballroom
Marry. May 29 – Philadelphia, PA @ Union Transfer
Thu May 30 – Boston, MA @ Paradise Rock Club
Fri May 31 – Montreal, QC @ Theater Fairmont
Sat. June 1 – Toronto, ON @ The Concert Hall
Mon June 3 – Chicago, IL @ Thalia Hall
Tue June 4th – Minneapolis, MN @ Fine Line
Fri June 7th – Seattle, WA @ The Crocodile
Sat. June 8 – Portland, OR @ Revolution Hall
Mon June 10 – San Francisco, CA @ The Fillmore
Tue June 11 – Los Angeles, CA @ The Regent Theatre
Marry. June 12 – Phoenix, AZ @ Crescent Ballroom
Fri June 14th – Dallas, TX @ Studio at the Factory
Sat. June 15 – Austin, TX @ Scoot Inn
Mon June 17 – Atlanta, GA @ Variety
Tue June 18th – Carrboro, NC @ Cat's Cradle
Marry. June 19 – Washington, DC @ 9:30 Club
Thu June 20 – New York, NY @ Webster Hall
Sat. June 22-Mon. June 24 – Mexico City, MX @ Foro Indie Rocks!
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