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The Fast Camels - The Magic Optician
Tetra 009
''you'll love it the first time you listen, you'll still be hearing something different a thousand plays later...'' Dominik Diamond (XFM)
''an early contender for the best album of 2007...Goran Obradovic (Popism)
Listen to, buy or download The Magic Optician here
THE FAST CAMELS - Myspace samples here
Read the Subba-Culcha interview here
Having been nursed, very likely, at the psych-pop-friendly bosom of various members of The Pastels and BMX Bandits, the debut from this Glaswegian bunch strives for Syd Barrett’s sweetly fried melodicism – and almost makes it. Sharon O’Connell, Time Out, London
"an intriguing mix of Barrett-era Pink Floyd, The Pretty Things psych-pop, 'Rubbles' bands and small dollops of Forever Changes period Love" Shindig Magazine
Crashing in on a wave of psychedelia, The Fast Camels proudly wave their freak flag high. This album is unashamedly steeped in sixties acid music, mainly of the American variety but with a healthy dose of British freakbeat thrown in for good measure. This type of revival has of course been attempted several times before with varying degrees of success (or lack of). For every Robyn Hitchcock there are several Doctor and the Medics. So it’s with a sigh of relief that one can report that The Camels pass the acid test with only a few could do better comments.
Guitar driven, the templates are primarily Love, The Byrds, Barrett’s Floyd and the UK Kaleidoscope. There is precious little whimsy here, the band attack the songs with gusto, creating waves of sound which are well produced, thick and full bodied. All written by guitarists, Drew Sturgeon and Mark O’Connor (with drummer Stephen Mors and Bassist Marc Vallely getting one cowrite each), the songs for the most part are able to stand in their own right, well apart from being merely pastiche. Starting with “50 Things on your Mind”, disembodied voices lead into an Arthur Lee guitar riff that captures his trippy punk flamenco blend. The lyrics are spot on, a lysergic search through the singer’s thoughts, staring at the sun, looking at the sky to find the answers. A very strong start. Released as a single, the next track, “Like a magic Optician” is perhaps the albums most immediately appealing song. The spirit of Syd Barrett is invoked as the usual suspects (gnomes, magical shops, and fish) are caught up in a romp through toytown psychedelia with a rousing guitar solo and a tremendous middle eight. There is nothing to compare with these two songs on the rest of the album but there are several contenders. “Comforting things” uses what seems like backward tracking to create a sense of dislocation in the music. “Can you see me” is an urgent Byrdsian rush that would sit well on Fifth Dimension with a crazed, fuzzed guitar part. “Privately Insane” returns to that part of the band that belongs to Arthur Lee with his deceptive use of seemingly innocent sunny melody and harmonies camouflaging a darker tale. The following “Gone” almost acts as a coda with more Lee type stylings on guitar while the lyrics could be construed as an epitaph for both Lee and Barrett. Indeed the whole album can be seen as a hymn to those departed psychedelic seers. The Fast camels have picked up the baton and it will be interesting to see if they can carry it further. Duke Dali - Crookedrain
Glasgow four piece The Fast Camels have a sound that is strongly influenced by the point in time when Freakbeat was morphing into full-fledged psychedelia; an intriguing mix of Barrett-era Pink Floyd, The Pretty Things psych-pop period, lots of Rubbles bands and small dollops of Forever Changes period Love. "Collector" types will probably delight in spotting the influences; "The rhythm guitar on track 14 sounds like the second Tomorrow single", etc. This would be to miss the point that the band are writing good original songs in a style that hardly anyone else is playing in. As far as I can recall the last UK band to successfully play in this style was The Chemistry Set.
Recorded live with vintage equipment, the sound is highly assured for a debut. The harmonies and catchy hooks of 'The Magic Optician' sound authentic without being a pastiche. The Camels present an eclectic mix, including the short, sweet pop of 'Two Day Week', the Arthur Lee influenced 'Privately Insane', and the driving, memorable 'Big Daddy Smythe'. Not all the tunes work quite as well, however. Sometimes the band work up a good, authentic psychedelic feel but the actual tune lacks substance, as on the opener, '50 Things On Your Mind'. On balance, however, this is a fine debut – catch the band when they tour to support the album in the New Year. Phil Suggitt (Shindig / Record Collector)
Not too unlike the case with Neon Tetra's release last year of The Ronelles debut album, here's a (very) early contender for one of the best albums of 2007, according to the "magic spectacle of POPISM. In spite of them mostly being found splashing around in the chocolate soup, rubb(l)ing themselves against classic Britsike artists such as the Syd-fronted 'Floyd, Tomorrow, Blossom Toes, Kaleidoscope and the like, and in spite of the quote from the press release saying that "collector-types will probably delight in spotting the influences (which happens to be pretty much true by the way!), The Fast Camels still don't seem to sound dated nor too derrivative, somehow managing to put all of the above into the moderndaze context. Released as a taster late last year, with a title like this, "Like a Magic Optician", simply couldn't be nothing but a genre defining Britsike item, the almost obligatory Syd-like quirkiness of "The Hump is also spiced with a kind of surf-ish spookiness, "Can you see me?" throws some Byrdsy harmonizing across the "pretty SF Sorrow-inspired backing track, and "The 2 day week seems to borrow some of the early Soft Machine's repetitive coda from "We did it again", being just as short (1:17) as is a 2 day week, compared to the regular one. "Comforting things provides an unavoidable Beatles-reference, as put through the "magic optics of some of their weirder contemporaries, and while we're at it, "Big Daddy Smyth might've been an Oasis tune, had they been listening to more late '60s Britsike. Besides all the British-ism, they seem to be well aware of where it was at on the other side of Atlantic as well, as heard in the opening "50 things on your mind", which is kinda like a more garagey take on "White rabbit", "The Nobgoblin" offers a kind of a distant recall of the "Journey to the center of the mind"-groove, in a less rude and more British way, while "Privately insane" finds itself somewhere between the two continents, being the ?Camels rare (almost) classic pop moment, by way of a jazzy-flavoured Love-ly Council. To round things up in the most appropriate way, the closer "Der Nazi tea", is a kind of a psychedelic omnibus, taking things back 'ome again. Now put on your kaleidoscopic eyeglasses, and see what the optician tells you to! ... You'll see nothing but magic! Goran Obradovic - POPISM
Despite the dodgy band name and wacky front cover - there’s a curious and slightly mysterious looking Gnome- Glasgow’s Fast Camels (as opposed to slow ones presumably!!) have some well crafted songs on their debut album ‘The Magic Optician.’ The album harks back to late 60’s/early 70s psychedelic pop, where they’re swimming in a pool of Love, early Pink Floyd, The Who and in the case of ‘The Hump’ which sounds like a tripped out and very poppy version of The Beatles ‘Yellow Submarine.’
Fast Camels themselves look like they have fallen through a crack in the space time continuum from around 1969 with Austin Powers. And on the songs its like they’ve seen the state of today’s society, terrorism, global warming, and rising gas bills, and have commented on it like an outsider or indeed someone who has travelled from a different time such as the late 1960s perhaps, when things might not have been as bad. They’ve commented on it with a quirky and wry sense of humour, ‘The Hump’ being a prime example.
They might be as retro as Ocean Colour Scene’s mum watching ‘The Good Life’ and they might not be the obvious rock star type per se but they’ve got more tunes on this album than Razorlight/Fratellis/Kooks/View-or-which-ever-urch-rock-indie-band-is-the-flavour-of-the-month put together. Plus its all without the rock star posturing or that may come later in their own unique way. Also Fast Camels aren’t afraid to use big guitars with unadulterated glory like they do on ‘Can You See Me.’ Also there’s the spew ridden 2 minute ode to the weekend and getting absolutely wasted on ‘2 Day Week’ which should raise a chuckle or 2. Also there’s the big and scary ‘Big Daddy Smyth’ with the singer Drew Sturgeon who is declaring rather menacingly ‘I’m gonna fuck up your life’ repeatedly, and the dark and brooding Black Rebel Motorcycle Club style ‘Privately Insane.’
So on Fast Camels debut album ‘The Magic Optician’ there are some very tasty and meaty retrotastic tunes for you to sink your teeth into. It’s best not to judge a band by their name or their front cover artwork, as they might say, for that matter. Ben Bradford Subba Cultcha
If Glasgow’s Fast Camels were a beverage, they’d be a cup of coffee laced with hallucinogens. Alternatively — at times, concurrently — ethereal and driving, their sound can hit you between the eyes and induce headbanging or take those same eyes, lift them towards the lights, and set the brain behind them whirling with swirling, psychedelic mélanges of vocals and instrumentation. In this well-produced debut, one can hear the compositional influence of early Pink Floyd, sweet Byrds-esque harmonies, elements of thematic vastness and darkness reminiscent of The Cure, and the crisp undertow of 60s surf-rock. Yet these are all like well-cited references; The Fast Camels have an original sound all of their own. The album’s single, 'Like A Magic Optician' shows what the band can do in the studio. But 'The Hump', with its menacing vocals, tribal drums, incisory riffs and eye-of-the-storm chorus, is where they perhaps shine the most. Then again, the achievement of this cut is no mean feat considering the strength already proven elsewhere on the LP. Ben Howe, The Skinny / STV Culture Site
''pretty cool'' - Jon ''mojo'' Mills (Record Collector)
''a great disc!!..very flashbackie to the psychedelic 60's'' - Andy Olsen - Radio Free Phoenix
MY new favourite label is Neon Tetra, based in Glasgow and part-owned by their best-known artist Daniel Wylie. And by way of an introduction I heartily recommend The Magic Optician, the debut album from The Fast Camels, which is destined to become an acknowledged masterpiece of modern psychedelia.The first two songs are more than sufficient to win over any unashamed old hippy - 50 Things on Your Mind could easily be a track left off one of Jefferson Airplane's mid-period albums (Crown of Creation, perhaps, or Volunteers) while Like a Magic Optician itself sounds for all the world like an out-take from Piper at the Gates of Dawn.
And it continues in the same exhilarating vein, striking numerous classic 60s chords while avoiding all the pitfalls of mere pastiche. The authenticity was apparently achieved in part by using vintage guitars, amps, microphones and a sixties analogue mixing console. But we need not concern ourselves with such geekish details. The simple fact is that this is an album to delight anybody who remembers the likes of Love, The Zombies and The Airplane from first time around or younger listeners who aren't bothered with history lessons but appreciate quality music. - Alan Poole - Coventry Evening Telegraph
''an authentic 60's sound with a bit of something 21st century in the mix''
Martin Myers (Resonance Radio / Vox fm)
''classic psychedelia brought sharply into the now with cutting lyrics, eerie sound effects and edgy guitar riffs'' - Freak Emporium
Subba-Culcha interview:
Drew Sturgeon (vocals/guitars) and Mark O’Connor (guitar/vocals) were gigging around Glasgow in different bands at the same time. They hooked up while working part time in a Superstore and started writing songs together. Mark left his band and took Marc Vallely (bass/vocals) with him. The three of them poached Stephan Mors (drummer) from a band they’d seen when they decided that his playing style would be perfect for the noise they were planning to make! They took their explosive blend of psychedlia and melodic power pop on to Glasgow’s live circuit, clocking up great reviews, more than 40 gigs (three of which were at the legendary King Tut’s Wah Wah Hut) and an invite to play at the Cavern Club as part of the International Pop Overthrow Festival this year. The band went into 4th Street Studios to record its debut album, “Like A Magic Optician” (out 26th February on Neon Tetra Records). It was only natural that the tracks would be recorded using similar techniques to those used 40 years ago in recording their favourite own albums. Most of the initial tracking was done completely live, with the results being fed into an old TEAC analogue mixing console. The record’s sound comes from the judicious use of vintage equipment (classic Fender and Selmer amps; Fender Telecasters, 1960s Neumann mic) and careful ambient mic placement - much of the ambience and reverb on the record is completely natural with no effects processors or samples used. Sound engineer Ian Coleman encouraged the band to bring in toys, household objects and to generally run riot in the studio in order to create the sound effects that were layered onto the final mix. The end result? An album whose lyrics tell tales of life and love from a 21st century perspective, but which would sit very comfortably next to the work of Jefferson Airplane, Love, The Zombies and early Pink Floyd.
How did the recording sessions for the new album go? DREW: We decided that the most important aspect of recording was to capture the band’s live sound on tape and, where possible, we used first takes to capture the excitement of the songs. The entire process from live takes to final mixes took around 3 to4 months and the final results more than exceeded our expectations. We also accepted input from Ian Coleman, who engineered the sessions and who was a joy to work with and understood what we were trying to achieve.
What goals did you set yourself before you started recording? MARK: The main goal was to record an album that we would happily buy ourselves.
What do you feel are your own limitations when it comes to creating/writing music? DREW: I would like to think that we don't have too many limitations or rules regarding our writing. Our influences are quite varied and we write in a manner of different styles, sometimes as individuals, sometimes as a band.
Tell us 3 of your favourite songs from your career and the inspiration behind them? MARK: 'der nazi tea' was inspired musically by 'a quick one' by The Who, which also features several songs rolled into an extended piece. Our favourite song lyrically is probably 'the hump', which was written about a friend of ours who was involved with some strange stuff at the time! it's difficult to favour some songs over others as we feel fond of all of them!
DREW: we also have a new song called 'chicken BO' in our live set that we are loving playing at the moment.- it’s one of our most exciting yet!
What would you say was the best show you ever played? why? MARK: The International Pop Overthrow festival in Liverpool last year was a buzz to do. We went down a storm and Liverpool was crammed full of dozens of like- minded bands from all over the world. Any out of town gig is great to do as it's extra special knowing that our songs are spreading far and wide.
What are the bands plans for the rest of the year? DREW: Touring touring and more touring!. We will also return to the studio at one point to record our 2nd album.
How would you describe your own/bands sound? MARK: Bringing 60's freakbeat and psychedelia into the 21st century!
Who is currently moving you musically at the moment? MARK: There's a great scene in Glasgow at the moment, bands such as 'The Get Set Gos' are very exciting to catch live.
DREW: I'm always interested to hear anything that the likes of The Charlatans or Supergrass put out. Primal Scream continue to release great records and i saw Julian Cope recently and he was excellent. When more contemporary bands come up with the goods, we might be able to turn our ears away from our 60's-orientated record collections!
What album changed your life and why? DREW: 'The White Album' changed my life-it fell onto my head and fractured my skull!..Then i started listening to Love’s' 'Forever Changes' ,which is for me the best album ever released. So glad i managed to see Arthur Lee live a few times before his very sad death last year.
A moment in your life and a song that seem so perfectly intertwined in your memory? DREW: Hearing 'I Am The Resurrection' by the Stone Roses in a club for the first time. What a rush!
Your proudest achievement so far? MARK: The Magic Optician album.
If you could erase one single/album from history (your own or someone else's) which would it be and why? MARK: Anything by Keane would be a good start!.Music this bland should be banned!
How do you see yourself altering the band and your sound in the future? is there anything you wish to attempt in the future that's inspiring you right now? DREW: Can't really see any major changes to the bands sound, although as we are open to experimenting in the studio, who knows?!
A rumour you'd like to start about yourself, or one you'd like stopped? MARK: Rumours are bad news..did you hear the one about Vall (our bass player)?..Baboons, scrooge and the jaccuzi..it was a messy night!
What drives you? DREW: Sunshine and daylight.
What are your fears? MARK: Dying in my sleep.
DREW: Nothing-i'm fearless!
The revolution comes, who would you like to be first against the wall (and if you're feeling particularly bitchy, a second, third, fourth and so on...)? DREW: Cliff Richard, Boy George and John Motson
MARK: Gary Glitter, the guy from the Fine Young Cannibals and Michael Barrymore (awite)!
Best piece of advice you'd give to aspiring musicians, or the best piece of advice you were given when you started? MARK: Bide your time, don't take too much advice on board, avoid rip off venues, try as hard as you can to turn your influences into something original, make music that you're proud of!
If you're in a car going at the speed of light, and someone turns the headlamps on, would they do anything? DREW: Definitely, definitely not!
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