Lloyd, I'm Ready to Be Heartbroken [SINGLE] [ENHANCED]

Camera Obscura

Product Details

• Audio CD (May 9, 2006)
• Original Release Date: May 9, 2006
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Single, Enhanced
• Label: Merge Records
• ASIN: B000F3AJBW
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #31,691 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

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  Music > World Music > Europe > British Isles > Scotland

Editorial Reviews

Product Description
The first single from their forthcoming full-length, "Let's Get Out Of This Country" (street June 6). A three and a half minute pop masterpiece with a healthy nod to 60's girl groups complete with Spectorian "wall of sound" production. With two non-LP B-sides and the video for "I Love My Jean" (previously unreleased in North America), this is a must-have for fans awaiting new music from their Glaswegian heroes since January 2004.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars superb single - can't wait for the album..., May 16, 2006

By	M. Lohrke "spitcake.blogspot.com" (Provo, UT) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

camera obscura's new single begins like most proper camera obscura songs with a nice, pleasant, polite organ melody that's just this side of twee. however, a few seconds in when the drums kick in, you realize camera obscura has significantly improved as a band. gone are they wispy vocals, 'lloyd, i'm ready to be heartbroken' is a terrific single, and hopefully indicative of their upcoming album. it's stop-start-stop-star pacing keeps it interesting, and the switch to a minor chord at the beginning of the chorus is an unexpected, but pleasant, surprise. the strings could've been overbearing, but instead they add just the right embellishments.

'lloyd...' is more upbeat than anything they've ever done, suggesting that maybe they've ditched 'the stuart murdoch guide to scottish songwriting.' the hooks are huge and traceyanne's campbell's vocals are just so fantastic--a nice combination of vulnerability and enthusiasm. she sounds great, and more importantly, she sounds like she's having fun (not that she didn't before).

since i don't have any other superlatives to describe this single, i'll sum it up by saying it just plain old makes me happy to be alive. you'd be hard-pressed to find a better single released so far this year. Five stars.

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Actually, this song is an ode to Lloyd Cole, June 7, 2006

By	S. Rodrick "srnyc" (new york, ny.) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Disregard below review of the song. Camera Obscura have sang the praises of Lloyd Cole since they formed and have mentioned how much they love the song "Are You Ready To Be Heartbroken." There was nothing snotty about the original, nothing snotty about this homage.

1 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars What that guy said..., May 24, 2006

By	Sound/Word Enthusiast (Rhode Island, USA) - See all my reviews

...Camera Obscura's new single may be the very pinnacle of what they do: winsome, melodic pop with thick Scottish accents. What else do you want???

Seriously, the power and attitude of this single totally reaffirms the value of languid, jangley pop to me. The track is a response to a snotty old Lloyd Cole song (hence the use of the word "Lloyd"!), and they somehow manage to both out-snot and out-smart Cole -- without ever getting all loud and rock-y about it. Best line? Probably "Jealousy is more than a word now, I understand / I know you can stay a girl by holding a boy's hand." A brilliant reductum-ad-absurdum of Cole's original spurious argument. Awesome...

The b-sides ain't bad, either...but the title cut is really the gem...

Just devastating. I can't wait for the new album. It's going to be fantastic.