Campfire social’s new album They Sound The Same Underwater (TSTSU) is the kind of song extravaganza that doesn’t come up very often and, like a pop Brigadoon, it is a welcome site appearing through the mist. If, like me, you float on air when you listen to The Beths then Campfire Social bring the same happy helium to the party. However, it could have easily been a different story right down to the album’s name which was nearly The Inevitable Heat Death of The Universe: And Other Short Stories. TSTSU was begun in 2019 but like so many artistic projects the pandemic put paid to that.
Once the band regrouped and began writing new songs, they had a 20-20 clarity that these new tracks “shit all over” the pre-pandemic material, “I think we just stopped caring about what people would think and thought more about what we wanted to say and how we wanted to achieve that. There are ups and ups and downs throughout the album and although we touch on themes of loss or general despair there is a continued sense of hope that rings through ‘til the end. above all it’s honest.”
This is ‘Big Sky’ music with widescreen harmonies and the kind of power chords and epic drums that quarries could use to split boulders. From the immense opening track ‘Swim Swam Swum’ to the steel guitar lament (played by Chris Lee) on ‘I’m Not Scared (I’m Terrified)’, Campfire Social are a prism refracting music into the bold colours of ‘Patsy Decline’ and (standout track) ‘Clarity’, the complimentary shades of ‘George Is A Marine Biologist’, ‘Wendy’ and ‘Atrophy’ and the gentle pastels of ‘Living’ and the mini-track ‘The Inevitable End’ which has a soft grit, like sinking your feet in the hot sand of a summer’s beach, and it’s a sorbet that arrives just before the happy bounce of ‘Breathe Out Slowly’.
There is so much to enjoy about this album. The immense sound had me thinking that the studio walls were probably bowing outwards trying to contain the joyful power of the band and when they bring out the big chord splashes to emphasise the vocals it’s hard not to want to punch the air. The album smashes Prefab Sprout and Blue Nile together to get fissionable material but one thing above all others sends the spirits soaring and it’s the outstanding use of harmonies. They’re a sunny hug and They Sound The Same Underwater is a gloriously buoyant tonic for an often shitty world. Did I mention those lush harmonies?
They Sound The Same Underwater is released on 9th August and available to stream and buy as a download and on limited edition cream vinyl on Bandcamp.
Campfire Social: Facebook | Bandcamp | Instagram | X | YouTube
I can’t write this review without shining a spotlight on Popty-Ping the small record label with a big heart and a love of music that means they are more ‘music’ and less ‘industry’. This is their first album release having been releasing aesthetically beautiful 7” releases since 2012 including the Big Thing with the spic ‘Say When’ b/w ‘Eye to Eye’ and Joyzine favourites CHROMA with ‘Girls Talk’ b/w ‘Nos Da Susanna’. More power to the ping, if only more labels could have their ethics and good taste.
Review by Paul F Cook
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