Every Monday, Add of the Week unveils all the new songs going into the 88Nine on-air playlist, with one hand-picked selection put in the spotlight by a member of our music team.
Scottish indie / twee pop outfit Camera Obscura get a little Big Sky Country and truly do “look to the west” on their latest single, “Big Love,” picking up rhythms from Waylon Jennings and dishing out sweet vocal harmonies lead by the iconic Tracyanne Campbell. Playful lap steel is just the cherry on top.
“Why didn’t they think of this before?” one wonders — because not only does it sound completely catchy, but also completely natural. If the rest of Camera Obscura’s forthcoming album, Look To The East, Look To The West, falls in this pocket, it’ll be one of the brighter releases of the spring. For fans, it’s been a long wait (10 years!), which makes things seem even more fresh and exciting.
The band had some difficult things to process in that time, as longtime keyboardist Carey Lander died from bone cancer in 2015. It almost feels as though the lyrics of “Big Love” are devoted to her:
"It was a big love," she said
That's why it took ten years to get her out of your head
We watched you swoon
As she peacocked the room
We heard you cry
It's time to say goodbye
You can listen to “Big Love'' right here and on 88Nine by tuning your FM dial in Milwaukee or streaming worldwide on our website and mobile app. And don’t forget to look for Camera Obscura’s new album, Look to the East, Look to the West, out May 3 on Merge Records.
This week’s other adds
- Urban Heat, "Sanitizer"
- Ibibio Sound Machine, "Got To Be Who U Are"
- Dehd, "Mood Ring"
- The Smile, "Friend of a Friend"
- Phosphorescent, "Revelator"
