Welcome Back, Camera Obscura!

My Maudlin Career, the latest release from Scottish popsters Camera Obscura, will be available on these shores on April 20. I'm certainly excited for it, but less so than I might be for others who labor in the studio for years on end for one simple reason: their last long-player (2006's excellent Let's Get Out of This Country) is still in heavy rotation on my iPod and in my car. Not only does it boast one of the most brilliant indie singles ever (the wholly addictive "Lloyd, I'm Ready To Be Heartbroken"), but for me the entire collection has a Teflon-type quality that prevents me from ever getting tired of it. I can't explain it, really. I can't claim they're one of my most "favorite" bands, but at the same time, there are few records in my collection that boast such a trait. If you're unfamiliar with the band, they're champs at a brand of fey, gray-sky melancholy pop (think Belle & Sebastian or The Clientele) that sounds perfectly natural coming from the Northern UK, but would somehow come off as fraudulent coming from America. Still, the band sites two American artists, David Lynch and The Everly Brothers, among their biggest influences. As disparate as that might sound, a listen to nearly any harmonic track in the band's catalog (particularly "Razzle Dazzle Rose"), and suddenly you're having cherry pie and coffee in Twin Peaks. I'll post a full review of My Maudlin Career closer to the release date, but in the meantime you can sample the track below. You can also get it as a free download from the band's official site.