BC Camplight ‘Hide Run Away’ (One Little Indian)

The first listen of BC Camplight’s debut album ‘Hide Run Away’ is disappointing. It has Badly Drawn Boy written all over it – not that that’s a terrible thing – but we don’t need another Badly Drawn Boy, certainly not a yank version. The album sleeve held so much promise – depicting a giant squirrel chomping on a human head with the ravaged body lying in a pool of blood. All good stuff.

For some reason I felt compelled to give BC Camplight, aka Brian Christinzio, one more chance to prove he’d given us something different. He shares his record label, One Little Indian, with such outstanding talent as Bjork so he couldn’t be that bad, or so I thought. And he wasn’t. But he was nothing much more than ‘that bad’.

The first tune ‘Couldn’t You Tell’ shows promise but the opening riff reminds me of Margarita Pracatan, that brilliantly eccentric organist who used to grace the stage on Clive Anderson’s weekly show. I’m already thinking that this guy, although eccentric, might just have his tongue rammed a little too firmly in his cheek.

Beach Boy Brian Wilson’s influences are already apparent but again that’s no bad thing. ‘Blood and Peanut Butter’, a perfect name for a pretty catchy song that is pleasant but again nothing more than that. This is followed by ‘Emily’s Dead to Me,’ which sounds like it could be sung by Tallulah from Bugsy Malone or Adam Sandler wearing a blue frilly suit at a wedding in some kitsch American comedy. So far, so alright.

BC Camplight doesn’t have an incredible voice to fall back on so he relies heavily on his quirkiness and sometimes it really works. The Button Moon sound effects on ‘Wouldn’t Mind the Sunshine’ are really endearing but it’s track 10 that almost forces me to re-think everything I’ve just said. I just love this! Entitled ‘Richard Dawson’ – god knows why – it’s pacey, exciting, catchy, has a full sound and makes you want to listen again and again. In fact it’s very Magic Numbers, which again cannot be a bad thing!

BC Camplight might not set the world on fire but he’ll stay alight for many a sing-song round the campfire.

words: Rachel Machin

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