Camera Obscura @ Barrowlands, 26 April

Article by Chris Buckle | 01 May 2009

Whereas past po-faced performances have given Camera Obscura’s Traceyanne a slight dour air, the thrill of headlining their hometown’s most illustrious venue tonight packs the stage with smiles. “We’re all a wee bit in shock we’re playing the Barrowlands - what’s that all about?!” she asks, but fans are unlikely to share her surprise - particularly when a string-backed Eighties Fan in the encore melts the crowd into a collective swoon. Before then they impress with a set drawing heavily from My Maudlin Career, which luckily contains some of their best songs: French Navy is destined to excite indie club-nights for years to come, while a winsome Swans sashays with summery verve. But it’s Country Mile followed by Lloyd I’m Ready to Be Heartbroken that impresses most tonight: at their most melancholic in the former and bursting with bittersweet jubilance in the latter, they together epitomise Camera Obscura at their finest.

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