Today, the legendary Scottish indie-pop band Camera Obscura announces Look to the East, Look to the West, their first new album in over ten years, out May 3rd on Merge Records. The group, led by guitarist & vocalist Tracyanne Campbell, have reunited with Jari Haapalainen, who produced the band’s 2006 album Let’s Get Out of This Country and 2009’s My Maudlin Career, and have crafted an album that simultaneously recalls why longtime fans have ferociously loved them for decades while also being their most sophisticated effort to date.

Lead single “Big Love” relishes in the space between country rock and prog, a pining break-up anthem featuring the soaring pedal steel of Tim Davidson. It’s a Nashville Sound heartbreaker, tackling the complexity of wanting to rekindle a bad relationship with Campbell’s uncanny ability to render the past: “It was a big love, she said / That’s why it took ten years to get her out of her head,” she begins. “‘Big Love’ is our tribute to Waylon Jennings, with a nod to Sandy Denny and prog rock band Scope,” says Campbell. “It’s a song about not looking back, having faith in the present and future.”

Look to the East, Look to the West was the most hard-fought album of Camera Obscura’s career. Following the 2015 passing of founding keyboardist and friend Carey Lander, the band went into an extended hiatus. They remained in contact, but their status was uncertain until they announced their return, having been invited to perform as part of Belle & Sebastian’s 2019 Boaty Weekender cruise festival, along with a pair of sold-out warm-up shows in Glasgow.

Look to the East, Look to the West is the sound of a band that has grown more confident in its sound and purpose than ever. It is Camera Obscura at their best and most evocative, an album that completely rearranges the listener’s emotional core, leaving them sad and exhilarated at the same time. Camera Obscura’s catalog is replete with songs people point to as life-changing, songs that will stick with them all their lives. Look to the East, Look to the West has 11 of them; take your pick.

Camera Obscura Tour Dates

Thu. May 2 – Hebden Bridge, UK @ The Trades Club
Sat. May 4 – Leeds, UK @ Stylus
Mon. May 6 – Manchester, UK @ Academy 2
Tue. May 7 – London, UK @ Koko
Thu. May 9 – Brighton, UK @ Concorde 2
Fri. May 10 – Birmingham, UK @ O2 Academy 2
Sat. May 11 – Glasgow, UK @ Barrowland Ballroom
Wed. May 29 – Philadelphia, PA @ Union Transfer
Thu. May 30 – Boston, MA @ Paradise Rock Club
Fri. May 31 – Montreal, QC @ Theatre Fairmont
Sat. Jun. 1 – Toronto, ON @ The Concert Hall
Mon. Jun. 3 – Chicago, IL @ Thalia Hall
Tue. Jun. 4 – Minneapolis, MN @ Fine Line
Fri. Jun. 7 – Seattle, WA @ The Crocodile
Sat. Jun. 8 – Portland, OR @ Revolution Hall
Mon. Jun. 10 – San Francisco, CA @ The Fillmore
Tue. Jun. 11 – Los Angeles, CA @ The Regent Theater
Wed. Jun. 12 – Phoenix, AZ @ Crescent Ballroom
Fri. Jun. 14 – Dallas, TX @ Studio at the Factory
Sat. Jun. 15 – Austin, TX @ Scoot Inn
Mon. Jun. 17 – Atlanta, GA @ Variety
Tue. Jun. 18 – Carrboro, NC @ Cat’s Cradle
Wed. Jun. 19 – Washington, DC @ 9:30 Club
Thu. Jun. 20 – New York, NY @ Webster Hall
Sat. Jun. 22 – Mon. Jun. 24 – Mexico City, MX @ Foro Indie Rocks!

Pre-order Look To The East, Look To The West HERE.