Camera Obscura

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Discography

Discography

• My Maudlin Career

  21 April 2009

  1. “French Navy”
  2. “The Sweetest Thing”
  3. “You Told A Lie”
  4. “Away With Murder”
  5. “Swans”
  6. “James”
  7. “Careless Love”
  8. “My Maudlin Career”
  9. “Forests And Sands”
  10. “Other Towns And Cities”
  11. “Honey In The Sun”

  4AD CAD 2907CD CD, CAD 2907 LP, EAD 2907A DL

• French Navy

  13 April 2009

  7” AD2912 • Download EAD2912S • Download EAD2912V • CD BAD2912CD

• Lets Get Out Of This Country

  1 June 2006

  1. “Lloyd, I’m Ready to Be Heartbroken” – 3:49
  2. “Tears for Affairs” – 4:04
  3. “Come Back Margaret” – 3:47
  4. “Dory Previn” – 4:16
  5. “The False Contender” – 3:38
  6. “Let’s Get Out of This Country” – 3:21
  7. “Country Mile” – 3:59
  8. “If Looks Could Kill” – 3:29
  9. “I Need All the Friends I Can Get” – 3:18
  10. “Razzle Dazzle Rose” – 5:28

  Elefant ER-1123 CD and LP / Merge MRG276

  Carey :
  Recorded in two different studios in Stockholm in less than a fortnight with mad pixie Jari Haapalainen jumping up and down making us work harder. There are lots of guitars, a drum kit found in a skip, a magnificent crackly Hammond and more hakers, maracas and handclaps than a particularly large primary school music room.

• Lloyd, I'm Ready To Be Heartbroken

  1 May 2006

  Elefant 7”:ER-248 / CD Single: ER-362
  Merge MRG286

  Carey :
  One of the most problematic songs to assemble for the album but we were eventually so enthralled we gave it six choruses. Obviously the mark of a fine single. And, yes, it does refer to Lloyd Cole, and thankfully, he likes it!

• I Love My Jean

  1 March 2005

  Elefant 7” :ER-246 / CDSingle :ER-358

  Tracyanne :
  We were asked by the late DJ John Peel to put some of our music to a few poems by Robert Burns, and to perform them live at Peel Acres as part of John’s annual Burns night celebration. I love my Jean turned out to be a favourite of John’s, so we decided to release it as a single and dedicate to him.

• Keep It Clean

  1 July 2004

  Elefant ER-355 CD Single

  Carey :
  This single is backed by live favourite ‘San Francisco song’ which was a strong contender for a single itself and ‘Amigo Mio’, a dabbling with Spanish music disguising the scathing lyrics courtesy of Kenny. Even more exciting is the inclusion of the Teenager video: the chance to see the band “acting” and looking very cool indeed.

• Underachievers Please Try Harder

  1 September 2003

  September 2003 / January 2004 in USA
  Elefant ER-1104 CD and Merge MRG239

  Carey :
  The album was recorded over a series of long weekends in 2003. Every session had its highlights, one of which was playing with local pedal-steel-wizz Wullie Gamble on Books for Girls and recording the 50s warble on the Teenager choruses. Others included the big dinners cooked in the Cava kitchen and starting the day with over-priced rolls and greasy-thing from the local shop.

• Teenager

  1 May 2003

  Elefant CD Single: ER-352

  Carey :
  This first single from the second album is backed by the one-off intimacy of a home recording; ‘Footloose and fancy free’ was recorded entirely in Kenny’s bedroom. The other track ‘I don’t want to see you’ is possibly the sparsest –yet Camera Obscura song and was recorded in a single take in Cava.

• Biggest Bluest Hi Fi

  1 November 2001

  2001 Release (Andmoresound)
  1. Happy New Year
  2. Eighties Fan
  3. Houseboat
  4. Pen and Notebook
  5. Swimming Pool
  6. Anti-Western
  7. I Don’t Do Crowds
  8. The Sun on His Back
  9. Double Feature
  10. Arrangements of Shapes and Space

  2002 (Elefant) and 2004 (Merge) Re-Releases
  1. Happy New Year
  2. Eighties Fan
  3. Houseboat
  4. Shine Like a New Pin
  5. Pen and Notebook
  6. Swimming Pool
  7. Anti-Western
  8. Let’s Go Bowling
  9. I Don’t Do Crowds
  10. The Sun on His Back
  11. Double Feature
  12. Arrangements of Shapes and Space

  Gav :
  It all started with recording Eighties Fan in CaVa studios. Our first visit to a real studio, we felt like we were in Abbey Road. After the single session, we went back in over weekends whenever we could over the next year (November 1999 to December 2000) working with Geoff Allen engineering for us.

  It was a really exciting time as the songs came together and the album started to take shape.  CaVa is a converted church next to Kelvingrove Park with a great band room (Room 2) where we usually recorded. A couple of times we got to go into Room 1 which was enormous and a total luxury. Altogether a very different way to record than in my parent’s cellar.

• Eighties Fan

  1 June 2001

  Andmoresound 7” :and1645 / CDS:and16cds

  Lee :
  My first recording experience with the band and our first time in Cava. It seemed to take a while to get the right feel for the song with many evenings spent at Stuart’s place and our damp rehearsal space playing the tune over and over again. Eventually we entered into the luxurious studio 1 at Cava in Glasgow’s West End in Autumn 2000. We recorded several takes live with three violinists and three acoustic guitarists. This whole experience gave us the courage to get in there again and make an album.

• Rare UK Bird

  1 December 1999

  Quattro CD quattro-014 (Japan only)

  Gav :
  Quattro Records in Japan asked us if they could put out a cd with the two singles on it, so to make it up to a full length record we recorded another three songs on eight-track for it. We recorded the drums with Richard Colburn at Hyndland Church Hall and did the rest at my folk’s house. Railway Station, Eastwood and Eighties Fan (very different to the version on Biggest Bluest Hi Fi). They cleaned up the hiss on Park and Ride and Swimming Pool. Here endeth our lo fi years.

• Your Sound

  1 December 1998

  Andmoresound 7”: and1145 / CDS and11cds

  Tracyanne :
  Released in 1998 and written by David Skirving (ex-guitarist). It was recorded on 8 track, Brian Tolland (Del Amtri) was on Production and Engineering duties, and Richard Colburn (Belle & Sebastian) played the drums.  I can remember recording my vocals in Alan’s (Mac Meda) kitchen whilst everyone else stood in the living room.

• Park And Ride

  1 March 1998

  Andmoresound 7” : and0945

  Gav :
  We recorded this on four track in my parents cellar. I say four track, it was three different four tracks, cause they all kept breaking. There’s no drums because we didn’t have a drummer, just percussion. I think they call it lo fi. The pressing plant asked us if we wanted them to take of the hiss, we said no, we were a bit naive. Just before we recorded the vocals on swimming pool, a plane went past overhead, you can hear Tracyane just before the song starts saying, “Plane’s gone”