View Larger
Rate it!
Avg: 4.0 (204 ratings)
- Date Released: October 12, 2004
- Genre: Rock/Pop
- Style: Indie Pop, Indie Rock
- Label: Merge Records
-
They Say...
You really can't discuss Camera Obscura without mentioning Belle & Sebastian. That group's Stuart Murdoch produces Camera Obscura's debut, Biggest Bluest Hi-Fi; both groups hail from the part of Scotland where Felt, Donovan, the Pastels, and Heavenly are gods; and they both write smart, sweet indie pop songs with hearts on sleeve and tears on eyelash. Stop right there if you are thinking that Camera Obscura is a copyist, though. Stop and listen, because there is much to love about the band. First off are Tracyanne Campbell's remarkably sweet and rich vocals; she sings most of the leads (though John Henderson chimes in on leads and harmonies time to time) and has the kind of voice that will melt anyone who had a thing for Tracey Thorn. The songs are hooky and simple, based on classic indie pop chord changes and lovingly spiced with all sorts of sonic candy like chirping horns, gentle organ fills, handclaps, twangy-guitar solos, and swooning strings. The girl group-inspired "Eighties Fan" is undoubtedly the highlight, but almost any other tune would fit in swimmingly on an indie pop highlights mixtape. In fact, Biggest Bluest Hi-Fi makes a strong case for Camera Obscura as one of the best indie pop bands to come down the pike since, well, Belle & Sebastian. [The Merge release of the record includes two bonus tracks taken from the Eighties Fan CD single ("Double Feature" and "Arrangements of Shape and Space") and the visually arresting video for "Eighties Fan."]
“ The indie iTunes — Hardcore music fans are migrating to eMusic, the iTunes Music Store's cheaper, cooler cousin.”
Rolling Stone
eMusic Tip
Paid downloads are counted towards an album discount but free downloads are not.
COMPLETE FOR FREE!
You can download the rest of the tracks from this album for free! Just click the Complete Album button.
We’re sorry this album can only be downloaded using paid subscription download credits.
We recommend you Save it for Later by clicking the Save for Later button shown just above this message. For a list of related albums you can download right now, check out these recommendations.
We'll give you 12 additional free credits to download this album and start your paid subscription.
Get 12 bonus credits on us if you download this album. Sweet!
| 01. |  |
Happy New Year |
4:03 |
|
| 02. | |
Eighties Fan |
4:22 |
|
| 03. | |
Houseboat |
3:24 |
|
| 04. | |
Shine Like A New Pin |
3:35 |
|
| 05. | |
Pen And Notebook |
3:28 |
|
| 06. | |
Swimming Pool |
3:58 |
|
| 07. | |
Anti-Western |
3:10 |
|
| 08. | |
Let's Go Bowling |
2:49 |
|
| 09. | |
I Don't Do Crowds |
3:57 |
|
| 10. | |
The Sun On His Back |
2:51 |
|
| 11. | |
Double Feature |
5:52 |
|
| 12. | |
Arrangements Of Shapes And Space |
3:49 |
|
12 Total Tracks, 45:18 Total Length
Loading...
Playlists If you like Camera Obscura, check out these member playlists
Explore music recommended by Camera Obscura fans
Credits
- John Henderson - Band // Greg Lawson - Strings // Lisa Webb - Strings // Elizabeth Edwards - Strings // Frank Arkwright - Mastering // Ariane Maclean - Layout Design // Ariane Maclean - Cover Design // Geoff Allan - Engineer // Geoff Allan - Sleigh Bells // Stuart Murdoch - Guitar // Stuart Murdoch - Producer // Stuart Murdoch - String Arrangements // Camera Obscura - String Arrangements // Cheryl Crockett - Strings // Murray Ferguson - Strings // Lorna Leitch - Strings // Nigel Baillie - Trumpet // Lindsey Boyd - Band // Tracyanne Campbell - Band // Gavin Dunbar - Band // Kenny McKeeve - Band // Allan McCallum - Guitar // Lee Thomson - Band
Choose from over 7 million
music downloadseMusic features legendary and emerging artists in every genre: classic rock to classical,indie to international, soundtracks to spiritual, jazz to country and many more.
MP3 downloads work on any digital media player
With eMusic, you OWN your music without any restrictions. Burn music to a CD, play it on your computer, mobile phone or any digital media player - including iPod®, Zune® and Walkman®.
Songs available for 50¢ or less
eMusic subscriptions start at just $11.99 a month for 24 downloads - that's just 50¢ per song! And it gets better from there - our plans go as low as 42¢ per song!
Music Discovery
eMusic is about discovery. We make finding new music fun again with music recommendations from our award-winning team of music experts, member playlists and new music features.
Cancel anytime
With all the great music and site features we're pretty sure you will love eMusic. If not, no problem. You can cancel at any time and keep the music you have downloaded.
© 1992 - 2009 All Media Guide, LLC