Camera Obscura (4AD)
Thirteen years into a career on the weedy margins of Scottish indie, Camera Obscura managed to pick up a little mainstream radio play with French Navy.
My Maudlin Career offers more of the same: the sound has been filled out a little from the group’s previous three albums, but it’s still charmingly unmuscular and in thrall to both ’60s pop and ’80s indie. Its over-studied cool means it’s a tough record to love, perhaps, but it’s pleasant enough while it lasts.
WILL FULFORD-JONES
