Camera Obscura

Glasgow beginnings

Camera Obscura formed in Glasgow in 1996 around Tracyanne Campbell, John Henderson and Gavin Dunbar, with David Skirving as guitarist; Campbell herself dates the start to around 1994. Their first singles, "Park and Ride" (March 2, 1998) and "Your Sound" (December 14, 1998), were followed by the Japan-only compilation Rare UK Bird in December 1999. They have been labeled twee pop and compared to Belle and Sebastian. Their debut Biggest Bluest Hi-Fi (November 12, 2001, Andmoresound) was produced by Stuart Murdoch of Belle and Sebastian, who also produced the single "Eighties Fan" (June 25, 2001).

John Peel supported them and asked for a session in 2002; in 2004 they recorded "I Love My Jean" and "Red, Red Rose", setting Robert Burns poems to music, for one. Underachievers Please Try Harder appeared in September 2003 and Henderson left after the tour; the Let's Get Out of This Country article gives 2004. Carey Lander and Nigel Baillie joined in 2002.

Stockholm and 4AD

Let's Get Out of This Country (June 6, 2006) was made with the producer Jari Haapalainen, recommended by Stephen McRobbie of the Pastels, in two weeks in Stockholm, with Bjorn Yttling of Peter Bjorn and John arranging strings and horns. They had wanted to stop recording in bits over weekends. Campbell wrote all the songs; she cited Patsy Cline and Tammy Wynette, and said later she never felt like the singer in the band until they made it. It sold 17,100 copies in the UK and 58,000 in North America, and Pitchfork's review said the band no longer recalled Belle and Sebastian and only sounded like themselves.

They signed to 4AD in February 2009, and My Maudlin Career (April 20, 2009) was their first UK top 40 album at number 32. Desire Lines (June 3, 2013) was recorded in Portland, Oregon with Tucker Martine, with Jim James and Neko Case singing backing vocals. The 4AD Sessions EP came out for Record Store Day on April 19, 2014. Lander died on October 11, 2015 and the band went on hiatus; a JustGiving page for Sarcoma UK passed 103,000 pounds by August 2024. Campbell released Tracyanne and Danny with Danny Coughlan in May 2018, and the band announced its return to live performance on September 5, 2018, at Stuart Murdoch's Boaty Weekender in August 2019, after warm-up shows in Glasgow for a hospice in Lander's memory.

Making Money (April 23, 2022, 4AD) collects B-sides, covers and remixes and is dedicated to Lander. Look to the East, Look to the West (May 3, 2024, Merge), recorded at Rockfield in Monmouthshire with Haapalainen, reached number 36 in the UK, and Donna Maciocia is a permanent member from 2023. Campbell told Stereogum the band are not replacing Carey.