BC Camplight – A Sober Conversation review

Some people like to share. Some like to listen. Some don’t like to do either. For Brian Christinzio not sharing has never really been an option; each one of his recent albums as BC Camplight has helped to document an aspect of his life that’s had major consequences, and for those who like to listen, it’s made them compelling, ears on experiences.

It helps that Christinzio’s music is as rich in tone as it’s deliberately thought provoking. Others such as John Grant and Josh Tillman have been as willing to hold a mirror up to their fallabilities, but in a way that’s hard to define, BC Camplight records have typically felt a little more direct and straight from the heart by comparison.

A Sober Conversation is if anything even more of an exercise in contrasts. Musically it’s as dynamic as anything before, but the core is overshadowed by it’s writer dealing head on with an incident of sexual abuse suffered as a teenager. Broached most directly on Where Are You Taking My Baby?, that the listener’s first instinct to sympathise is left behind by the inspired songcraft is the highest possible complement that can be paid. You might not like to talk, but this is, against the odds, something that demands you listen.

You can read a full review here.