Smiles In The Sunshine And Tears In The Rain

Right! we're off for part three of our summer vacances. This time a bit closer to home, Machrihanish,  probably less than a hundred miles as the crowflies but 169 miles and four and a half hours by road and we won't be detouring across the isle of Arran this time.

The week will either be spent on the beach playing football and building sandcastles and being eaten alive at night by midges or sitting in the caravan playing Connect 4 and impersonating Kofi Annan while Max and Leo try to batter lumps out of each other due to extreme boredom. Still I have a Brookmyre to finish and then Karl Marlentes Matterhorn to try and tackle.

As I am a lazy git and have been away much of this last week,  I have had no chance to do any posts not even a Friday dance one you will be glad to read, so nothing to see or hear here until either next Saturday or Sunday. We will not be coming home early this time I hope!

I will leave you with a track from a track from a tour only ep by Frightend Rabbit which features the dulcet tones of Tracyanne Campbell. I have been meaning to post acouple of early Camera Obscura tracks for a while now but just haven't gotten round to it.

Frightened Rabbit - Fuck This Place

Soothing Sounds For A Sunday

It has been some time since we had something a bit mellow on a Sunday. Here is one of my favourite songs from Camera Obscura's third album, Let's Get Out Of This Country.

Camera Obscura - Country Mile

Everybody Loves A Cover Version, Right?

First up we have Camera Obscura, a band from Glasgow who unfairly in my opinion get dismissed by people as "another Belle & Sebastian, sure they have that twee quality and Tracyanne and Carey are sartorially challenged but there is more to them than just another twee indie band. Live they do try to murder early 80's pop records, the last time i saw them they did a thoroughly miserable (in a good way) version of Robert Palmer's Some Guys Have All The Luck.

Here we have their take on one of another Scottish superstar's best known hits, Sheena Easton, the sweet little girl from Belshill, Lanarkshire who was corrupted by his purpleness, Prince.

If you don't own anything by Camera Obscura I suggest starting with the first album Biggest Bluest High Fi after which you will be hooked and want the following 2 albums.

Camera Obscura - Modern Girl.

Next we have the Caulfield Sisters with a cover of a song by the third best band ever to grace this planet, I do have a propensity for exaggeration. The Caulfield sisters are a band from Brooklyn formed in 2002 and are hardly prolific in their output. As far as I'm aware their discography runs to one 6 track ep, a dowload only single and one half of a split 7" single, all
of which can be purchased from American Laundromat Records, who have a great line in tribute albums, I can recommend the Pixies tribute Dig For Fire and High School Reunion.

The Caulfied Sisters - Some Candy Talking

BTW - You need to go see The Airborne Toxic Event before they become huge, last night in King Tut's was fucking increadible at the end the audience were dancing on stage with the band. A review will follow.