Camera Shy : "S/T"

If you seem him onstage you might think Bassist Nick Basset is on drugs, but there is no way he can be if he keeps this busy, not only does he play in Whirr, Nothing and the goth side project Death of Lovers , but he now has this indie rock band Camera Shy. It's not shoe-gaze , but there is a dreamy element to it, but it's focus it poppy indie rock. This album came out back in January, so I am surprised it did not garner enough buzz to be brought to my attention earlier. Acoustic guitars are more common than not. The female vocals are sometimes more hushed and breathy like a shoe band might use on songs like "Colors Radiate". Nick has a pretty dope Morrissey tattoo, so it's not mistake that the guitar strum has some Smiths to it. You see how much this project relies on Basset as it feels like his influence takes a back eat on "Glowing", which is just acoustic guitar and none of his bass playing to give it any depth. The Smiths' like guitar returns on the more upbeat"New Something" that finds her vocal melody taking a gleefully poppy turn, but think 90s alt like the Cranberries rather than Taylor Swift."Under Water Day" is a slower more acoustic based song , but it works better than the previous tab at a similar sounds, it's not as happy so maybe thats why I like it and her vocals border on Cocteau Twins like intervals, she is not trying to be Elizabeth Fraiser an stays in a youthful mid range. There is a slight 50s slant to the guitar on "Take Your Time" another upbeat more pop inflected song, with sappy lyrics.

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They close the album with the very delicate " Seemingly Ill". The song is so fragile it seems a wind might blow it away. Dream pop might be an apt genre to say many portions of the album lean toward. You could say that of all his projects this one is the most mainstream, but even then this is much more thoughtful than anything gracing the radio. It fits well on the landscape of indie rock and I think they were very successful in creating what this album seeks to accomplish, breezy pop songs heavy on the atmosphere.I'll round it up to an eight and see how it grows on me, it was happier than expected and given his past work I went into it expecting something more down trodden in some form or fashion, it's not shoe-gaze so don't go in expecting that, but if you like girl fronted indie rock that is introspective yet poppy this should be up your alley.