Look East, Look West

Camera Obscura

Look East, Look West

Merge

03 May 2024
Web Exclusive

By Gary Knight

“I loved who we were together / I'm not sure who to break up with,” Tracyanne Campbell sings, and suddenly nine years are gone and the loss of Carey Lander is painfully fresh. “Sugar Almond,” named after his late friend and keyboardist's rabbit-like eyes (“gray like the skies of Glasgow”), is a harsh and tumultuous acknowledgment of Lander's death that arrives late on an album — her first since 2013's Camera Obscura and her most moving to date—that for much of its first nine tracks makes it easy to forget the context that would be harder to ignore.

As an artist, Campbell remains the same gifted songwriter whose voice and spirit lend themselves so perfectly to channeling her heartbreak and longing, and while her tendencies often breed familiarity, her words here have added weight, imbuing the compositions of her bittersweet, hard-earned—and funny—midlife missives: “Oh, who knew we could feel so young and happy / At 40?” “The lines on my face are clear and visible.” “Don't live with regret because you only have one life.” Her bandmates, meanwhile, have only gotten better at their instruments, deftly weaving soul, country and AM pop into numbers made warmer by a human touch, while Jari Haapalainen proves he's as close to a quality assurance and taste as much as any producer. in this world.

Haapalainen of course helped propel the Scottish six-piece into the pop stratosphere with two brilliant efforts Wall of Sound (2006 Let's get out of this country and of 2009 My maudlin career), and while the reverberation is significantly reduced here, the characteristics of its sound are everywhere and remind throughout that the band is presented at its best. That Campbell sought his guidance in navigating a delicate recording situation, and that Haapalainen met the moment, is just one of the album's triumphs. You could stay and admire the songwriting and production for a full listen, but great moments and highlights abound: “We're Going to Make It in a Man's World” is the kind of winning twee pop and social anthem that would have anchored an early album and is sadly relevant here (much to the delight of our leisure centres). “Sleepwalking” grabs attention with an intimate verse and a simple piano arrangement, before a timely entrance from the rest of the band that feels like a release. and “Liberty Print” is unlike anything Camera Obscura has managed before, with a frenetic drumbeat and sweet '70s-style keyboards decorating an upbeat number that belies its intensely personal and tragic subject matter.

The unwavering feeling that emanates from Look East, Look West, with its brilliant production and melodic chapters, is cathartic, feeling the world turn in the midst of despair and finding some relief after dire circumstances beyond our control (Campbell sings about kids hunting Pokémon in a park during a pandemic, and seeing loved ones in her dreams after they are gone). This is a survival record — theirs and ours. Well done for a welcome return. (www.camera-obscura.net)

Author Rating: 8/10