12-11-2011, 12:24
online listen
a bit too much chill in the wave for me
nice female vocals with an updated She & Him
I prefer the retro
1.3
from the album - Better Off Without You
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EgrP6fzGKjg
released Nov 8th, 2011
![[Image: q78917wsosc.jpg]](http://image.allmusic.com/00/amg/cov200/drq700/q789/q78917wsosc.jpg)
from all music
Bio
U.K. artists Jeremy Warmsley and Elizabeth Sankey started making music together as Summer Camp in October of 2009,
and their sunny wash of mellow C-86 pop was a timely fit with the lo-fi synth pop craze (coined âchillwaveâ) that
was sweeping the States. With their identity concealed, Warmsley and Sankey posted a short series of videos that
went viral due to their clever usage of old gauzy movie footage -- "Ghost Train" rearranged the tame scenes from
the 1969 X-rated film Last Summer, and "Round the Moon" borrowed clips from the 1970s romantic teen drama A Swedish
Love Story. Teen heartache in movies became an ongoing theme for Warmsley and Sankley, and as well as the
aforementioned songs, Summer Camp's debut EP included songs about âVeronica Sawyerâ (Winona Ryderâs character in
Heathers) and âJake Ryanâ (the boy-crush of Molly Ringwaldâs character in Sixteen Candles). Moshi Moshi released
the Young EP in November of 2010. The duo recorded their second album with Pulp's Steve Mackey co-producing.
Welcome to Condale was released in late October of 2011 by Apricot and Moshi Moshi.
Album Review
Summer Campâs 2010 EP Young signaled the arrival of a band with a really strong idea: taking '80s-influenced pop
songs and running them through the murky chillwave sound (lots of wobbly synths, vocal reverb, and tinny drum
machines) to end up with a sound that was akin to a David Lynch version of a John Hughes teen movie, a chilly,
weird take on the '80s bolstered by Elizabeth Sankeyâs brilliant voice and very strong hooks. On their first full
LP, Welcome to Condale, Sankey is still astonishingly good, sounding like she could be a total diva but still
having the restraint to fit herself snugly into the constraints of the songs. Whatâs changed is that the overall
feel is less Lynch and more Hughes as the duo (Sankey and Jeremy Warmsley) has erased most of the warped weirdness
from Summer Camp's sound, playing it relatively straight throughout. There are songs that would fit right into the
track list of the Pretty in Pink soundtrack with nary a blink of an eye; âBetter Off Without You,â âSummer Camp,â
âWelcome to Condale,â â1988,â and âDownâ all have immediate hooks and a slickly punchy processed sound that are
perfectly '80s and unabashedly pop. Sankey and Warmsley sing together like their cinematic lives were on the line,
producer Steve Mackey (of Pulp) bathes them in chilly synths, and you can imagine Molly Ringwald mooning over
preppy guy as the songs play. These are the songs on the album that work the best; their lack of weirdness gives
the melody and emotion a chance to sink in. The moments where the band tries to expand its scope a little are less
successful. âBrian Krakowâ shifts their sights to the '90s (My So-Called Life) and sports a cheesy rawk & roll
guitar riff that the Jesus and Mary Chain may have thought twice about using; âDone Foreverâ casts Sankey as a
torch singer but tacks on a corny drumbeat and sounds forced; âI Want Youâ tries for lyrical darkness (âIâd make
you love me so much youâd have to ask permission to breatheâ) but ends up a little on the far side of silly; and
âNobody Knows Youâ sounds like an overly dramatic Portishead castoff. These are likely growing pains of a band
looking to get bigger and more artistic instead of just doing what it does best even if it isnât a step forward.
This urge is understandable, but sticking to their strengths would have made Welcome to Condale a better listen. As
it is, if you delete the missteps, you can cherry-pick a really strong, really simple '80s pop EP from the remains.
Track Listing
1. Better Off Without You
2. Brian Krakow
3. I Want You
4. Losing My Mind
5. Summer Camp
6. Nobody Knows You
7. Down
8. Welcome to Condale
9. Done Forever
10. Last American Virgin
11. Ghost Train
12. 1988
a bit too much chill in the wave for me
nice female vocals with an updated She & Him
I prefer the retro
1.3
from the album - Better Off Without You
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EgrP6fzGKjg
released Nov 8th, 2011
from all music
Bio
U.K. artists Jeremy Warmsley and Elizabeth Sankey started making music together as Summer Camp in October of 2009,
and their sunny wash of mellow C-86 pop was a timely fit with the lo-fi synth pop craze (coined âchillwaveâ) that
was sweeping the States. With their identity concealed, Warmsley and Sankey posted a short series of videos that
went viral due to their clever usage of old gauzy movie footage -- "Ghost Train" rearranged the tame scenes from
the 1969 X-rated film Last Summer, and "Round the Moon" borrowed clips from the 1970s romantic teen drama A Swedish
Love Story. Teen heartache in movies became an ongoing theme for Warmsley and Sankley, and as well as the
aforementioned songs, Summer Camp's debut EP included songs about âVeronica Sawyerâ (Winona Ryderâs character in
Heathers) and âJake Ryanâ (the boy-crush of Molly Ringwaldâs character in Sixteen Candles). Moshi Moshi released
the Young EP in November of 2010. The duo recorded their second album with Pulp's Steve Mackey co-producing.
Welcome to Condale was released in late October of 2011 by Apricot and Moshi Moshi.
Album Review
Summer Campâs 2010 EP Young signaled the arrival of a band with a really strong idea: taking '80s-influenced pop
songs and running them through the murky chillwave sound (lots of wobbly synths, vocal reverb, and tinny drum
machines) to end up with a sound that was akin to a David Lynch version of a John Hughes teen movie, a chilly,
weird take on the '80s bolstered by Elizabeth Sankeyâs brilliant voice and very strong hooks. On their first full
LP, Welcome to Condale, Sankey is still astonishingly good, sounding like she could be a total diva but still
having the restraint to fit herself snugly into the constraints of the songs. Whatâs changed is that the overall
feel is less Lynch and more Hughes as the duo (Sankey and Jeremy Warmsley) has erased most of the warped weirdness
from Summer Camp's sound, playing it relatively straight throughout. There are songs that would fit right into the
track list of the Pretty in Pink soundtrack with nary a blink of an eye; âBetter Off Without You,â âSummer Camp,â
âWelcome to Condale,â â1988,â and âDownâ all have immediate hooks and a slickly punchy processed sound that are
perfectly '80s and unabashedly pop. Sankey and Warmsley sing together like their cinematic lives were on the line,
producer Steve Mackey (of Pulp) bathes them in chilly synths, and you can imagine Molly Ringwald mooning over
preppy guy as the songs play. These are the songs on the album that work the best; their lack of weirdness gives
the melody and emotion a chance to sink in. The moments where the band tries to expand its scope a little are less
successful. âBrian Krakowâ shifts their sights to the '90s (My So-Called Life) and sports a cheesy rawk & roll
guitar riff that the Jesus and Mary Chain may have thought twice about using; âDone Foreverâ casts Sankey as a
torch singer but tacks on a corny drumbeat and sounds forced; âI Want Youâ tries for lyrical darkness (âIâd make
you love me so much youâd have to ask permission to breatheâ) but ends up a little on the far side of silly; and
âNobody Knows Youâ sounds like an overly dramatic Portishead castoff. These are likely growing pains of a band
looking to get bigger and more artistic instead of just doing what it does best even if it isnât a step forward.
This urge is understandable, but sticking to their strengths would have made Welcome to Condale a better listen. As
it is, if you delete the missteps, you can cherry-pick a really strong, really simple '80s pop EP from the remains.
Track Listing
1. Better Off Without You
2. Brian Krakow
3. I Want You
4. Losing My Mind
5. Summer Camp
6. Nobody Knows You
7. Down
8. Welcome to Condale
9. Done Forever
10. Last American Virgin
11. Ghost Train
12. 1988