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Underachievers Please Try Harder

by CAMERA OBSCURA

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    2023 Reissue - LP - Orange Colour Vinyl - Limited Edition **Includes a free digital MP3 download [320 kbps]

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  • LP (Gatefold Sleeve - Pink Colour Vinyl - Limited to 600 copies) - Monorail Music Edition
    Record/Vinyl + Digital Album

    An exclusive reissue for the wonderful Monorail Music record shop in Glasgow. **Includes a free digital MP3 download [320 kbps]

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  • LP (Black Colour Vinyl - Gatefold Sleeve) - First Edition
    Record/Vinyl + Digital Album

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1.
You’re such a beautiful writer that’s not all you are I’m sorry about making a pass It was subtle but I think that you grasped The meaning intended I can be a friend to you I won’t pretend I’m not interested in breaking a heart It’s not love no it’s nothing like that I’ll leave that to lookers like him Oh he’s such a delicate thing Now it’s such a fragile thing that we have I should be suspended from class I don’t know my elbow from my arse I should be suspended from class I don’t know my elbow from my arse We could go out dancing But, in truth it is the last thing that I have on my mind Please say if I’m way out of line I won’t need telling twice Now he wants to kiss Said he can’t resist You’re going to have to keep it hidden inside I’ve a feeling that pigs might fly, might fly I should be suspended from class I don’t know my elbow from my arse I should be suspended from class I don’t know my elbow from my arse You’re such a beautiful writer And that’s not all you are I’m sorry about making a pass It was subtle but I think that you grasped The meaning intended I should be suspended from class I don’t know my elbow from my arse I should be suspended from class I don’t know my elbow from my arse
2.
Does it make you happy to ignore me on streets? I guess by now you think I’m weak I wish you could have said something before now I wouldn’t share a bag of chips with you In my opinion you don’t have a clue I’m being cruel I’m being cruel I don’t want to be part of your scene I’ll stick with him and keep my nose clean You’re the one pretending to be licking stamps All alone in a room following lines on maps It’s clear you don’t want me here How about I send you a book on nutrition You can stop spoon-feeding me non-fiction Just for a while, I will fake a smile Why did you say she was a friend of mine? I thought it was me you couldn’t stand I’m confused I will win you will lose You’ve taken to phoning my house when you’re drunk Confessing all your love I wish you could have said so before now I don’t want to be part of your scene I’ll stick with him and keep my nose clean
3.
You bruise like a cherry my darling girl Words can mean nothing to some in this world I want you to know I thought about you last night I cried Play indie rock if that’s what you want Quote Mike Leigh films it will turn them all on I heard you were going on a first date That’s great Don’t apologise Try your best not to disguise To get misty eyed at times is fine Sometimes it feels like you’re the only one A freckle appeared on your lip from the sun Those kids that you run with, they put you down Make no sound
4.
Teenager 03:40
For your birthday she sent you a card She didn’t sign her name she gave an autograph Now she’s trying to call your bluff Is she your true love? We knew the boy who went from Mod to Ted She asked matter of fact had he gone off his head He was uncomplaining as a tree Not a thing like me You’re not a teenager So don’t act like one Sure she’s a heartbreaker Does she have one? Is it down to me, down to me we both rarely speak? I went for a stroll after dark I thought of you with her while staring at the black I didn’t have you down for being easily led Or the girl well read I went for a stroll after dark I thought of you and her, I think I’m going mad Can you help me to see where I’m going wrong? Help me finish this song
5.
No sense no style I said I loved you for a little while When you cried no High speed became go slow Come back this time Wishful thinking is going to make you mine Push turns to shove I got no more room for love I hope you hear me I can’t stand you next to me Get lost goodbye I’ll smile before you cry I love you baby Please don’t hate me You’re feeling a little sad tonight but you’ll be alright
6.
Your Picture 03:08
My friend she told me such a story but she didn’t know what I knew I laughed with my friend when she got to the end I knew we were laughing at you She told me that you made some money and you got yourself frames on the wall People come by and they look at your face And they say it’s the fairest of all Of course you protest That’s what you do best You’re modest and shy to the end You’re watching them a as they’re looking at you And you know it was money well spent She told me you’d given up drinking to be with somebody you knew And you tried to get into the bible But it never got into you You’ve still got some loyal disciples I suppose that I’m one of the few I shouldn’t have laughed Cause I mean you no harm But my friend got to me before you And next time I see you I’ll be pleased to see you I hope you’ll be pleased to see me I’ll visit your picture I won’t have the nerve To tell them that they’ve got you all wrong
7.
Took a walk in the park for a laugh we drank sparkling wine Oh yeah it was dark trees could not be identified The girl you were with did she have you on your knees? I shut my mouth my ears I don’t want to hear you please Now you’re skipping school going to listen to records Wrapped up in mohair dissing your elders Dip a chocolate finger take a sip from my cup Remember what you’re dad said "button your lip" You’ve got to toughen up for him He’s the kind who will do you in I should know that it’s no fun You will never be No.1 No.1 son. God I’ve tried to help but I think I just hinder Ask a better girl could she ever be kinder Love unlike lightning can strike you twice I don’t know much, please take my advice You’ve got to toughen up for him He’s the kind who will do you in I should know that it’s no fun You will never be No.1 No.1 son.
8.
Hurry up, baby, 'cause we're going somewhere tonight One glass of wine and you're mine and you know I just might... You know I just might You know I just might Well the room goes boom to the sound of temptations and more Twisting and turning that girl's looking good on the floor Good on the floor Good on the floor Well the four walls they collide Until the blue-eyed girl decides to let me go home Let me go home Host plays a ghost in my house, gets a fist in the eye Vinyl is crushed in the rush for the liquor supply The liquor supply The liquor supply Supremes in our dreams Do we quit bein' obscene on the stairs Daylight appears through the curtains and nobody cares Nobody cares Nobody cares Well the four walls they collide Until the blue-eyed girl decides to let me go home Let me go home Daylight appears through the curtains and nobody cares Supremes in our dreams Do we quit bein' obscene on the stairs
9.
You can compliment me on the style of my hair Give me marks out of ten for the clothes I wear You probably thought I had more upstairs I disappoint you, I can see through your perfect smile He likes to read books written for girls Prides himself on being a man of the world It’s in the darkest places he gets his thrills He will disappoint you, if you see through his perfect smile I think separation is ok You’re no star to guide me anyway You only wanted me to play the fool Play by your rule Now my door has swollen from the rain God knows we’ll never see her face again People get shattered in many ways They can disappoint you if you see through their perfect smiles I think separation is ok You’re no star to guide me anyway You only wanted me to play the fool Play by your rule
10.
We went out dancing it was time we had fun We didn’t leave ‘til three I know we’re not the only one’s When we got outside the snow had started to fall I made a ball I threw it at Gavin because he’s tall Now we have this snow up to our knees A Walking wonderland is always bound to please I know it’s true to say my smiles been weak I wonder if you know by now I’ve fallen deep I can hear you calling to me in the morning How can I be falling in love with you You can offer me a penny for my thoughts They’re not worth a damn they’re not worth a lot I’ve been getting loose with my tongue and my hands How can I expect you to understand who I am? I can hear you calling to me in the morning How can I be falling in love with you She’s doing her own thing Still making my heart sing She is moving along to the beat of a song It’s true I’ll keep you safe and warm tonight I’ll keep you safe and warm tonight I’ll keep you safe and warm tonight
11.
Lunar Sea 04:56
For the Lunar sea see the river moon And you got it Match the finest words to the greatest tune And you bought it See me cross in style Walk the longest mile in a minute Where do drifters go? Wonder if they know there’s no limit At the rainbows end Find a perfect friend say you’re sorry Make me dream at night Break my heart on sight don’t you worry Swept the sounds of love from the skies above And I knew it Swim the seas of blue just to drown in you And I blew it You hear it, the shiver in spine don’t come near it I love it, you soar and you cry rise above it Got my lunar sea for you’re river moon If you let it Match my finest words to your greatest tune Won’t forget it You hear it, the shiver in spine don’t come near it I love it, you soar and you cry rise above it Fly by lunar sea lullaby

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FORMATS: LP [Gatefold Sleeve] / CD Digipak / Digital Album

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► Watch the official video-clip of "Keep It Clean": bit.ly/1lRKKEe
► Watch the official video-clip of "Teenager": bit.ly/1NdZ17H
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There are groups who grew up with Elefant Records, who were a turning point for the label and its development, and who fill us with pride when we look back and see their discography and the milestones they have reached. All of this is coming up because of CAMERA OBSCURA, that group that Stuart Murdoch (BELLE & SEBASTIAN) discovered and which he became obsessed with, to the point of producing their third single (“Eighties Fan”), directing the corresponding music video, doing the arrangements on their first album, and so many more things. We fell in love with that song and it made us license their first album, “Biggest Bluest Hi-Fi” for the whole world, and then sign them with Elefant Records and release their following two albums on our label for the entire planet, until they wound up signing with 4AD, the label that groups like COCTEAU TWINS, STEREOLAB, THE NATIONAL, GRIMES and the PIXIES spent time with.

The time has come to re-release those two sought after albums that have been out of print for so long on vinyl, “Underachievers Please Try Harder” (2003) and “Let’s Get Out Of This Country” (2006). The latter was their definitive confirmation, the album that brought them to perform halfway around the world and made them known by a larger audience than the gem hunters who already loved them from their first album “Biggest Bluest Hi-Fi”. “Underachievers Please Try Harder” is the album with “Teenager”, “A Sister Social Agony”, “Keep It Clean” and “Suspended From Class”; it is the album on which Stuart Murdoch continues showing his support for the band with the cover photo; the album produced by Geoff Allan (who has also worked with other illustrious Scottish bands like MOGWAI, TEENAGE FANCLUB, THE DELGADOS, ARAB STRAP and BELLE & SEBASTIAN); the album that quickly surpassed 100.000 sold copies, a number that causes a bit of vertigo nowadays; the album that put them at the top of indie lists in the United States, and that was included on an episode of our beloved “Gilmore Girls”.

“Let’s Get Out Of This Country” is the album of maturity, the album of a group that has a solid international position and how they approach this third album that will immortalize them. It was recorded in Sweden and produced by Jari Haapalainen (Ed Harcourt, THE CONCRETES), and with it, Tracyanne Campbell and company made the definitive leap with their arrangements, energy, harmonies and composition. Some of the musicians that recorded the strings had recently toured with Brian Wilson and Arthur Lee & LOVE. The album’s collaborators include Victoria Bergsman from THE CONCRETES, Britta Persson and members of Swedish groups like THE TOURETTES, LAAKSO and SPEEDMARKET AVENUE. And we get “Lloyd, I’m Ready To Be Heartbroken”, “Tears For Affairs”, “Razzle Dazzle Rose” and “Let’s Get Out Of This Country” to confirm this. And of course, they toured the ENTIRE world. And they were sounding on “Grey’s Anatomy”. And in the end 4AD came to sign a group that had become gigantic.

This is a special opportunity to acquire two vinyls that haven’t been available in stores for many years, and that are absolutely delicious, and absolutely necessary for any pop lover’s music collection. “Underachievers Please Try Harder” is being reissued in orange colour vinyl and “Let’s Get Out Of This Country” in transparent vinyl.

With almost seven years of working together, we shared some of the most exciting and wonderful moments we have ever had here at Elefant, and that bonded us all together forever.


Original promotion text:
Written by Julio Ruiz (Musical journalist and critic. He directs and hosts Disco Grande radio show in Radio 3 (RNE).

The labor of diffusion and expansion in the Spanish market was made little by little. The credentials then used to introduce the band (something that now seems not to be enough to get the whole picture) were their geographical proximity and friendship with BELLE & SEBASTIAN through Stuart Murdoch. Those first singles started to be played in the radio and made way for Elefant‚s release of "Biggest blues hi-fi". Some people prefered "Happy new year", others "Eighties fan", some chose "Anti-western" and its male/female alternate vocals.

Their appearance at Primavera Sound Barcelona Festival served as a mere advance for what later confirmed in a tour with overcrowed venues (El Sol Club in Madrid showed a long queue of fans, the success with the highbrow audiences in Tanned Tin Festival are just two examples). Another fact for the records: CAMERA OBSCURA played more shows in this Spanish week-and-a-half tour than in the rest of their live career so far.

On those shows we started to relish those new songs to be included in this new album, which insists again in the keys previously displayed, now improved to perfection. That collection of flavors (British pop, acoustic intimacy, backing vocals, string arrangements, sixties sounds, country moods...) is present again in "Underachievers please try harder" (recorded between last year‚s April and December) again produced by Geoff Allan, that achieves to mantain a select and refined pulse in the album sound.

We shouldn‚t stop finding resemblances and parallel lines to those charming female vocals. No Harriets, Tracys, Nancys, Dustys or any French icon. Tracyanne sings like... Tracyanne. That‚s it. She is superb singing alone or when accompanied by John: both voices are so wonderfully pasted that it‚s difficult to think of a matching duet of today. She is also the main composer, signing the songs by herself or with John and Kenny.

The rest of the line-up (Gavin, Carey, Nigel and Lee) contribute to the instrumental brilliance, though there are also some additional musicians (flute, steel, strings...) which are part of the experimentation assumed by the main members in order to add more and more arrangements to improve the compositions.

The album advance is that true gem entitled "Teenager"; I‚d really want to know why the two songs in the flip, "I don´t want to see you" (sung by Tracyanne) and "Footloose and fancy free" (sung by John), two intimate moments only supported by piano and organ respectively, have not been included in the album. "Teenager" is from now on a new hit by CAMERA OBSCURA. It makes you think of a film like "The Wanderers", with music by Dion DiMucci or some other classics with beach-surf-tinged guitars a la "Shadows".

When the record start you may think it‚s Elvis‚ "Suspicious minds", but no, it‚s "Suspended from class", one of the best tracks in the album, no doubt it doesn‚t open the album by chance. Main virtues: John‚s second vocals, the female backing vocals -is it Tracyanne overdubbed or maybe Carey? And that full-blast ending, so typical of them. Superb production.

After another fragile, sensitive number ("Keep it clean") we enjoy the best vocal tradition à la RIGHTHEOUS BROTHERS or EVERLY BROTHERS in "A sisters social agony". They were all recorded at the same time.

The country touch, when John sings and he‚s replied by Tracyanne, is present in "Before you cry", another future hit we first listened in their Spanish tour. Again, the shadow of that glorious tandem formed by Nancy Sinatra-Lee Hazlewood is conjured.

At the end of A-Side (vinyl version) we find the surprise of "Your picture" proving that some members of the band (namely Kenny) is fond of songwriter Leonard Cohen. Yes, it‚s easy to think of "Suzanne", one of the Canadian myth main hymns.

The flip opens with one of the tracks that was expecting to be delivered. It grows in crescendo till it manages to surround you (from LOVE to STEREOLAB or their contemporaries SALOON?), winning points when the guitar comes in to die in an instrumental climax. Close to "Number one son"‚s conception is "Knee deep at the national pop league", another of the lengthiest numbers in the album.

John sends us to the dancefloor with "Let me go home", a song written by himself, featuring refined backing vocals in the best tradition of the classic girl groups.

We also need to mention the intimacy and nakedness of another country-tinged track (featuring a delightful steel guitar) that is "Books written for girls" and the closing with "Lunar sea", another song of the same kind, featuring alternate vocals and written by John and Kenny.

If all this was not enough, look for the wonderful pictures (shot by Stuart Murdoch himself) of the female members of the band. Because of all this, from the sleeve to the content, I think we are in front of one of the best albums in 2003.

By Julio Ruiz.

credits

released August 21, 2003

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