Delivering on promises from 2023 when they returned to their label, Scottish indie popsters Camera Obscura are now officially back. The band have announced their first new album in over 10 years, shared alongside lead single "Big Love" and tour plans for later in the year that will bring them to Canada for a pair of shows.
Look to the East, Look to the West is due May 3 on Merge Records. It's the long-awaited follow-up to 2013's Desire Lines, and sees Camera Obscura reunite with producer Jari Haapalainen, who worked on 2009's My Maudlin Career and 2006's Let's Get Out of This Country. As per press notes, the album — the group's first in the wake of the tragic passing of keyboardist Carey Lander in 2015 — was recorded in the same room where Queen wrote "Bohemian Rhapsody."
The pedal steel-laced lead single sees Camera Obscura embrace the Nashville Sound. “‘Big Love’ is our tribute to Waylon Jennings, with a nod to Sandy Denny and prog rock band Scope,” said singer-guitarist Tracyanne Campbell. “It’s a song about not looking back, having faith in the present and future.”
You can listen to that below, where you'll also find the tracklist details and the band's tour itinerary — including Canadian concerts in Montreal (May 31) and Toronto (June 1).
Look to the East, Look to the West:
1. Liberty Print
2. We're Going to Make It in a Man's World
3. Big Love
4. Only a Dream
5. The Light Nights
6. Sleepwalking
7. Baby Huey (Hard Times)
8. Denon
9. Pop Goes Pop
10. Sugar Almond
11. Look to the East, Look to the West
Pre-order Look to the East, Look to the West.
Camera Obscura 2024 Tour Dates:
05/02 Hebden Bridge, UK - The Trades Club
05/04 Leeds, UK - Stylus
05/06 Manchester, UK - Academy 2
05/07 London, UK - Koko
05/09 Brighton, UK - Concorde 2
05/10 Birmingham, UK - O2 Academy 2
05/11 Glasgow, UK - Barrowland Ballroom
05/29 Philadelphia, PA - Union Transfer
05/30 Boston, MA - Paradise Rock Club
05/31 Montreal, QC - Fairmont Theatre
06/01 Toronto, ON - The Concert Hall
06/03 Chicago, IL - Thalia Hall
06/04 Minneapolis, MN - Fine Line
06/07 Seattle, WA - The Crocodile
06/08 Portland, OR - Revolution Hall
06/10 San Francisco, CA - The Fillmore
06/11 Los Angeles, CA - The Regent Theater
06/12 Phoenix, AZ - Crescent Ballroom
06/14 Dallas, TX - Studio at the Factory
06/15 Austin, TX - Scoot Inn
06/17 Atlanta, GA - Variety
06/18 Carrboro, NC - Cat’s Cradle
06/19 Washington, D.C. - 9:30 Club
06/20 New York, NY - Webster Hall
06/22–24 Mexico City, MX - Foro Indie Rocks!