BC Camplight – How To Die In The North
- Written by Adam Deuchars
There is a strong sense of the lost boy returning to the fold with the release of How To Die In The North by BC Camplight. The driving force behind BC Camplight is Brian Christinzio, occasional collaborator with The War On Drugs and Sharon Van Etten, who was last seen in his own right back in 2007. His welcome reappearance comes following relocating from his native America to Manchester which prompted a rediscovery of his creative pulse and led to How To Die In The North.
Yet it would be hard to imagine a less Mancunian record. Americana is shot through it with shards of doo-wop, white boy soul, spangly surf pop, ‘80s MTV synth funk to Broadway lushness. It dazzles with its breadth and range of influences. All of which feel fundamentally American. There is also a creepy feel that permeates throughout. This creative pulse is driven by a dark, dark heart. ‘Good Morning Headache’ is a woozy washed-out ballad, the vocal talking of killing the dog over a sprightly piano before giving way to off centre psychedelic strings and a hazed female voice. This to and fro brings to mind Brian Wilson descending into the abyss. No surf up here; the tide is well and truly out. The Beach Boys influence strikes again in ‘Thieves in Antigua’ which is a straight ahead pop song which you could easily imagine on Radio 2 with its pitch perfect harmonies and sunny strings. But all the while it feels off kilter, that something is lurking beneath the surface that just won’t or can’t be contained. It is unnerving and leads to some very uneasy listening.
‘Just Because I Love You’ is a fine example of this. A seemingly straight slice of Hall & Oates soul pop shimmers and aches in all the right places but hit the chorus and the guitar goes all wonky and the straight ahead lurve promised leads to Christinzio being “broken” with the “bitch bleedin’” him dry. None of this feels clunky or overtly manipulative and this is one of the great skills of the record. Such ambition could easily fall in on itself, brought to Earth at an alarming rate if it was not constructed with such care and diligence. That this blend of musical influences, allied to the damaged and damaging tone of the lyrics, works is a staggering achievement. The desire to push boundaries accelerates as the record goes on, culminating in ‘Why Doesn’t Anyone Fall in Love Anymore’ which could be a Broadway bringing-the-house-down show-stopping ballad. Grand piano chords chime out plumping themselves up as the song builds into its gloriously wrought refrain, chorus girls doing high kicks as Christinzio’s vocal shamelessly pulls hard on every heartstring available. Snapping a few in two for good measure.
It is not all slow broody stuff. The opener ‘You Should Have Gone to School’ is an excellent piece of power pop with killer hooks a plenty amidst the sunny harmonies. ‘Grim Cinema’ is stop-start ‘80s pop with a vocal part reminiscent of Mark Knopfler(!) at times, and it is as catchy as hell. These more upbeat moments work well to keep you engaged and strike you with an immediacy that is hard to shake. The shifts in musical texture provide constant surprises and rewards. With each listen there is something new to hear.
Due to its David Lynch like tone this record will not court the mass appeal of, say, The War On Drugs’ Lost In The Dream. It is too out there with its diversity, too idiosyncratic in its tone, too many dreams turn into nightmares. It will certainly add to the cult appeal of BC Camplight and ensure an (even more) devoted following. The lost boy has mounted a dazzling comeback and has not budged an inch from his dark eclectic vision. How to Die in the North will be one of the stand out records of the year.