Camera Obscura

Thu 21st Jan, 2010 in Features

“It always seems like a great idea, until we arrive and remember how hot it is!”

These are the words of Camera Obscura bassist Gavin Dunbar when reminded that in January the Glasgow group will make its second trip to Australia in our globally-warmed summer. Lucky for them, first stop is the new look Beck’s Festival Bar at the Sydney Festival. From there they take in Brisbane, Melbourne and Perth, bailing out of town just before Southern Cross Tattoo Day on 26 January.

Camera Obscura is continuing to ride a wave spawned by last year’s brilliant fourth album My Maudlin Career. Lustrous, wistful, darkly romantic and achingly beautiful are among the superlatives used to describe their sound. So how does this sound translate to the stage?

“Since we toured Let’s Get Out Of This Country [in 2006] we have made a conscious effort to recreate the sound of the record on stage,” Dunbar explains. “We’d love to have an orchestra along too, but it’s a bit expensive.”

Whatever they’re doing is working. The latest tour has taken in some of their biggest crowds to date and seen them play in previously unchartered countries. “The response from crowds has been better than we anticipated. Obviously given economic circumstances people are pretty skint and we thought it might not be as busy as it had been before.”

It’s fair to expect the tour will be built around tracks from My Maudlin Career , with songs like Honey In The Sun and Swans sure to get concert-goers feeling loose and Other Towns And Cities taking everyone back to that first painful break-up, however long ago. Dunbar is keen to point out though that the back catalogue is never forgotten, and the band doesn’t mind revisiting old, unrehearsed material.

Preceding any antics that Camera Obscura might bring to bear during their outings here will be the support act Slow Club, whose take on lo-fi pop has attracted all sorts across the UK. Ready to share the freshly-pressed tracks off their debut LP Yeah So, this may be the moment for their arrival in the Aussie big time.

The only sure thing is Camera Obscura won’t be back again in 2010, so make hay. “After Australia, we’ll play some shows in Japan and the US,” Dunbar says. “We’ll probably end up playing festivals again in the European summer.”

Camera Obscura is playing the following shows in Australia.

Thursday 21 Jan – Beck’s Festival Bar, Sydney
Friday 22 Jan – The Zoo, Brisbane
Saturday 23 Jan – Corner Hotel, Melbourne
Monday 25 Jan – Amplifier, Perth