BC Camplight: How to Die in the North

Relocating from Philadelphia to Manchester almost four years ago seems to have done multi- instrumentalist and songwriter Brian Christinzio the world of good.

Certainly, his tendency to smother songs on previous albums Hide, Run Away (2005), and Blink of a Nihilist (2007) in sunlit Brian Wilson/Beach Boys tributes has been sidelined somewhat by typical Mancunian earthiness (hence, you realise, the album title). The results, by and large, work a treat.

Songs such as Lay Me on the Floor, Thieves in Antigua and Good Morning Headache reference 1970s clever-clever pop (ie kindred spirit Northern UK band 10cc), while the album's highlight, Why Doesn't Anybody Fall in Love Anymore, puts its hand into the inside jacket pocket of John Grant's recent catalogue and steals from it with no shame and great joy.

[ bellaunion.com ]