release date: Apr. 1983
format: cd
[album rate: 4 / 5] [3,78]
producer: John Brand, Bernie Clarke
label: Sire - nationality: Scotland, UK
Track highlights: 1. "Oblivious" (4 / 5) - 2. "The Boy Wonders" - 3. "Walk Out to Winter" - 5. "We Could Send Letters" - 6. "Pillar to Post" (4 / 5) - 9. "Back on Board"
Studio album debut by Scottish jangle pop band Aztec Camera, here consisting of composer Roddy Frame on vocals, guitar, and harmonica, backed by Bernie Clark on piano and organ, Campbell Owens on bass, and with Dave Ruffy on drums and percussion. Although, this is the band members while recording this album it's really a difficult issue as the list changed from year to year on a continuous basis. Aztec Camera was formed by Frame who is the only lasting member throughout its life-span. The style is rather new at the time of the release. The jangle pop emerged in the early post-punk era being influenced by new romantic and 1960s folk rock artists like The Byrds and The Walker Brothers - generally speaking, artists playing either acoustic-driven guitar music and / or in the style of baroque pop. Roddy Frame was the band's front figure and he also wrote all music and lyrics.
Unnoticed, the album made it as high as number #22 on the national album charts list, which may come to a surprise to a lot of people.
The track "Pillar to Post" was the most prominent track, at least at the time, due to its more new wave sources, and that was also the track that made me listen to the band. However, "Oblivious" is much more a track one will associate with the sound of Aztec Camera: the folk rock and jangle pop melancholy, which hints at both jazz as well as pop, and perhaps more than anything points to the creation of the later style of sophisti-pop. Back then, I would have handed it perhaps 3 / 5, today I'm in no doubt in handing the album 4 stars. It's quite original, but it also made way for many artists to come, e.g. Johnny Hates Jazz, Sade, Prefab Sprout, Swing Out Sisters, The Smiths, etc., and it helped shaping the sound of others incl. Everything But the Girl and The Go-Betweens.
Highly recommendable.
[ allmusic.com 5 / 5, Uncut 4,5 / 5, Rolling Stone 4 / 5 stars ]
