Album Review: Camera Obscura - My Maudlin Career

Camera Obscura
My Maudlin Career

4AD, 2009
It may be some matter of coincidence that I just purchased Ghost World: Special Edition on a whim in order to reward myself for the completion of a rather cumbersome thesis paper. Before I settled down to enjoy my acquisition I needed the perfect music to accompany my indulgence. The first thing that came to mind: Camera Obscura. And how delighted I am that they released a new album, My Maudlin Career!

Place all worries aside: One need not a $40 edition of a Daniel Clowes graphic novel to enjoy this album, though it does seem to enhance the experience. The combination of music sung by kooky bookish chicks, one bespectacled, one not and a graphic novel about kooky bookish chicks, one bespectacled, one not works so well, though. And both hold a great deal of resonance with me, a bespectacled kooky bookish chick.

Even without Enid and Rebecca as my listening buddies, this album stands up well. My Maudlin Career is full of songs with cynical views on romance without being angry or depressing. Lyricism strays away from cliché romantic regret with a title track that begins, “You kissed me on the forehead/now that kiss is giving me a concussion.” But even the cynicism remains subtle under charming musical arrangements and singing. I truly love how Camera Obscura borrows the musical stylings of sixties girl pop and turns the expected saccharine lyrics in the opposite direction. This album is smart, charming, and strong from start to finish.

You don’t have to be a kooky bookish chick - bespectacled or not - to enjoy My Maudlin Career (though it certainly doesn’t hurt).

[Carrie Wade]