Camera Obscura - Biggest Bluest Hi-Fi

Like Belle & Sebastian and The Sundays before them, Glasgow’s Camera Obscura deal in bedsit-style pop—jangling guitars and wan vocals. While sweet, the band’s second U.S. release (which was recorded before 2004’s Underachievers Please Try Harder) is the kind of ear-candy best sampled in moderation. Tracks like “Eighties Fan” and “Swimming Pool” have an instantly infectious appeal, but halfway through the disc Tracyanne Campbell’s lackadaisical singing begins to beg the question: why listen at all if she finds singing such a bore?