BC Camplight - Blink of a Nihilist (One Little Indian)
5/5
By: Dean Driscoll
As the title of The Brian Jonestown Massacre's 1996 album has it: 'Thank God for Mental Illness'. Brian Wilson, Daniel Johnston, the BJM's Anton Newcombe and Gordon Anderson (former Lone Pigeon, founder of the Beta Band and now frontman of The Aliens)... all sufferers of mental health issues, and all have contributed some of rock 'n roll's most inspired and uplifting music. To that list you may add BC Camplight's Brian Christinzio - another artist whose struggle with mental illness has only made him more adept at writing beautifully crafted off-kilter pop songs.
Following up his warmly received 2005 debut 'Hide, Run Away', Christinzio declared this album his attempt at creating the 'perfect pop record'. It's a bold claim made by many, and can often result in total failure to the extent that it can make you wonder what some artists actually think truly makes perfect pop music. Brandon Flowers for example mistook 'perfect pop' to mean Meatloaf-style histrionics and bombast when writing the Killers' second album, when in fact he was much nearer the mark with 'Hot Fuss'. Christinzio shares with Flowers the inclination to infuse their pop harmonies with darker lyrical undercurrents, but that's where the comparisons end, with BC Camplight armed with a lightness of touch that The Killers could only dream about.
'Blink Of A Nihilist' is highly recommended for fans of Canada's The New Pornographers (and their frontman AC Newman's solo work) - tracks such as 'The Hip And The Hipless' and 'Scare Me Sweetly' in particular being reminiscent of their softer moments. But the admirable eccentricities and idiosyncrasies of 'Blink of a Nihilist' are all Christinzio's own. There's a delightful unpredictability to the songs, with new pleasures just around every corner. The album standout is 'Officer Down' - gloriously aided by Stephanie Vernacchio's backing vocals, it's a slower, piano-led track armed with one of the most glorious choruses you're likely to hear all year.
Album opener 'Suffer For Two' sets the tone and is the best example of Christinzio's mastery of pop music dynamics and inventive multi-instrumentalism - a soaring chorus preceded by a jaunty verse underpinned by a bassline that could be from 70's cartoon Rhubarb & Custard's theme tune, and a song which like the rest of the album, is more rewarding with every listen.
As for Christinzio's stated mission, 'Blink Of A Nihilist' isn't the perfect pop record: it's one for a more deserving world than this. Here's hoping BC Camplight can get some of the attention this brilliant, joyous album truly deserves.
Download four tracks from 'Blink of a Nihilist' HERE.
Artists in this article: BC Camplight
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