Underachievers Please Try Harder [ENHANCED]

Camera Obscura

Product Details

• Audio CD (January 20, 2004)
• Original Release Date: September 2003
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Enhanced
• Label: Merge Records
• ASIN: B00015HVWO
• Also Available in: Vinyl  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars See all reviews (29 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #57,061 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description
Full Title - Underachievers Please Try Harder. Camera Obscura create lilting, sophisticated melodies that draw similarities to the work of contemporaries such as Belle & Sebastian, The Clientele or Trembling Blue Stars, but are also rooted in more classic sounds such as Nick Drake, Donovan or Petula Clark. Songs drift and linger like clouds in a summer sky, with gentle hooks and breezy vocals that stick in your head like a pleasant memory. Features 14 tracks including an Mpeg video of 'Teenager'. Digipak. Merge. 2004.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

16 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Detractors, step off..., October 29, 2004

By	Greekfreak (Pusan Korea (South)) - See all my reviews

First off, let's deal with all those nitwits out there who've got Belle & Sebastian pegged as some kind of sacred cow; if we're gonna play 'name that influence', then this review will be a thousand times longer than it needs to be, and I won't even get around to reviewing the actual LP!

Besides, this has some of the best songs Petula Clark never wrote. Particularly "A Sister's Social Agony", one of the best (and few) doo-wop-esque ditties I've heard since The Flamingoes.

The album starts off great, with "Suspended From Class", "Keep It Clean", "A Sister's...", and "Teenager", lulls a bit in the middle (minus a star for re-writing L. Cohen's "Suzanne" and calling it "Your Picture"; shame on you guys), then picks up a bit near the end.

For those in need of a chill pill fix, this'll do the trick.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Cute 50's-60's stylings. Melodic -- Wonderful., June 12, 2006

By	Not Mozart (Detroit) - See all my reviews

Seems like many people are mad that this isn't Bell & Sebastian. Well, It's not. It's probably closer to the stylings of The Clientelle or late era Yo La Tengo -- and they're not Scottish...?
Anyway, there are few, if any, synths -- the warm recording and instrumentation are all they need to make their music work. The girl/boy vocals are each unlike anything sung in at least 20 years and together just make me want to melt.
Also, fans of Saturday Looks Good to Me will enjoy, but I must warn you -- this album never really rocks out. It keeps a cool melodic additude throughout. Lunar Sea is bliss.

12 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars ouch some harsh reviews -- its lilting jangly 60's folk pop , March 19, 2005

By	techmannn "techmannn" (New York, NY United States) - See all my reviews

The singer's voice is perfect for the style of music, and the studio production is excellent. The songs have a coy tone, but with a self-aware humor that is more smart kitsch than merely adolescent. The spare arrangements are a pure pleasure. C'mon gang; this music is pretty good. This isn't The Breeders or Belly so dont expect dark tones and anger.