BC Camplight – Shortly After Takeoff

Hey y’all, tonight I will be reviewing an album by BC Camplight (a stage name for Brian Christinzio). He’s a singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist that has released his fifth studio album Shortly After Takeoff. More recently, he has been known for his lyrics that explore his personal life and struggles with alcohol and depression.

The album starts with the booming, echoing bass and Camplight’s slightly augmented voice greeting the listener with a psychedelic, chill vibe. However, I Only Drink When I’m Drunk that obviously talks about alcohol, reflects that slowness, but I do think the track is strangely uplifting. A female-sounding voice is layered onto Camplight’s voice, making you feel like you are tripping even more, and the loud stuttering riffs of guitar and drums are signature to this song and horns join in at the very end too. The next track Ghosthunting starts off with a standup comedy recording, however, the performance is also extremely depressing with the vocalization of the comedian’s underlying trauma with a reference to his dead father. Transitioning to some head-voice singing, the next song progresses into a darker atmosphere where the vibe alternates between a vocal-heavy melody and a loud, lo-fi combination of banging drums, blaring horns, and screaming strings. Back to Work comes next with an extremely catchy chorus in an almost robotic voice. However, it alternates between that robotic verse and a Sufjan Stevens-like (vocally and lyrically) verse with a groovy instrumental. I personally love the upbeat Sufjan singing while the lyrics are about touchy subjects like telling your mom you want to commit suicide. The motif of alternating between a harsh part and an upbeat head-voice part continues throughout the tracks. Cemetery Lifestyle employs the motif perfectly, creating the catchiest riff on the album. The instrument use on this record is incredible variation-wise and compositionally. There are so many horns, vocals, strings, piano, and especially synthesizer that creates such an emotion-provoking atmosphere.

The title track is actually the most disappointing track as all the employed techniques on the song are already used on previous tracks. Lyrically, the track does not have much going for it either. It is merely a short, undescriptive recall of an account about getting high. At least, right afterwards in Arm Around Your Sadness, Camplight serves us with a platter of a phenomenally delicious vocal performance. It is, by all means: Angelic. The later tracks of the album discontinue the alternation motif, almost like the music has become sober. The progression of the record feels comparative to a drunk experience. However, Born to Cruise seems deceivingly happy, but Angelo brings it down as it starts with a lonely bass drum. Finally, the last track is not much of a complete song as it leaves the listener with the ominous singing of “Angelo,” but there is still definitely some closure.

In short, Shortly After Takeoff’s individual songs’ lyrics did not seem super coherent, but the overarching theme of depression and alcohol abuse is undeniably present. Shortly After Takeoff is like a trip of its own, incomparable to any substance (even if alcohol is often brought up in the album). However, the trip is quite short and lacks density of lyricism in almost every song. The strength of this album is without a doubt the utilization of instruments to create the atmosphere I have already described so much about.

Pretty Good Album: 7.9

Favorite Tracks: I Only Drink When I’m Drunk, Cemetery Lifestyle, & Arm Around Your Sadness

Least Favorite: Shortly After Takeoff