Camera Obscura

Whether it's singer Tracyanne Campbell's introverted, confessional voice or Camera Obscura's penchant for understated pop, the band have effortlessly perfected a sound that can best be described as "lovely." But beneath the vintage pop demeanour are a group that have gradually refined and grown in confidence. Producer Tucker Martine (R.E.M., Sufjan Stevens) brings out the most bittersweet of lyrics in the most joyful of sounds, punctuated by horns and riffs that tug on your heartstrings for days. "We might not storm the charts completely," Campbell admits on "Every Weekday," "but we'll do our very best." And it's that confession, referring to the album's culprit of love, while also slyly nodding to the band's mainstream success, which shows the band's self-awareness, an awareness on which they've hinged their best work. Desire Lines refurbishes '50s pop, turning it into modern classics filled with unabashedly lovely melodies, just the way Camera Obscura want it, and just what we've come to expect, and love, about them.