Camera Obscura: Wonder Ballroom June 4

All the back vowels in Scotland couldn't shy me away from Camera Obscura; darlings in their own right for being cute and sad with foppy bangs to prove it.  Backing their incredibly solid new album, "My Maudlin Career" they were kind enough to stop in Portland early this June to kick of a summer of light but introspective rock.

Openers Agent Ribbons hail from Sacraments, which is too bad for them, but they mentioned love being on the road.  There is a surreal quality to them, something like early Bjork; just being so entirely true to what they are that it feels like a Chinese-fingertrap: the more you want to be a part of it the less likely you are to obtain it.  So I just sat back and sipped the Malibu and pineapple and let the songs of carnivals and botched love wash over me.  Between the crazy vocal ranges, guitar/drum/cello/violin and the ragdoll attire, it was enough of a show to call it a good night.  Talking to the cellist later, she walked me through the process of how they make and decorate their own cds with little trinkets and pictures.  Each one means something to them, which was pretty sweet.

Camera spared no punches and opened with the title track off  "Maudlin." The live songs off the new album were definately highlights; they sounds a bit more forlorn and richer than the lp/cd/mp3 versions.  But the gem of the nightt was from their aptly named release "Underachievers Please Try Harder:" a sparkling "Books for Girls" which was a happy surprise to see live.  The stage presence of the seven band members (a few who were really moer just shakers of various instruments) looked impressive but the sound waned by the halfway point and it felt like a band gather suchh quiet acclaim was just phoning it in.  Perhaps the tour was weighing more on them than their previous visits to Portland, or maybe the sea of plaid shirts was a little too shocking for them....the ladies Obscura were holding the 50s fashion down on all accounts.  At any rate, the show was good, the girl very pretty, but their melancholy hearts just couldn't quite get into it.