Underachievers Please Try Harder

Underachievers Please Try Harder is the second LP from the indie band Camera Obscura, released in 2003. The album was released in Australia by Popfrenzy.

Underachievers Please Try Harder
Studio album by
Camera Obscura
ReleasedAugust 31, 2003
GenreIndie pop
Length43:37
LabelMerge
ProducerGeoff Alan, Camera Obscura
Camera Obscura chronology
Biggest Bluest Hi Fi
(2001)		 Underachievers Please Try Harder
(2003)		 Let's Get Out of This Country
(2006)

Reception
Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Metacritic74/100[1]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[2]
Christgau's Consumer Guide(3-star Honorable Mention)(3-star Honorable Mention)(3-star Honorable Mention)[3]
The List[4]
Pitchfork8.0/10[5]
Rolling Stone[6]
SpinA[7]
Uncut[8]

Writing for AllMusic, critic Tim Sendra praised the album, again comparing the group to Belle and Sebastian and writing that "the band manages the rare feat of sounding full and rich without jamming every possible frequency with sound. It also throws in loads of imaginative little hooks that keep things lively".[2] Scott Plagenhoef of Pitchfork wrote "Their honest, wide, and adult approach to heartbreak, romantic liaisons, and escapism is extended to the subtle range of influence — most of which is shown off on the tracks sung by John Henderson".[5]

Track listing

All tracks are written by Tracyanne Campbell

No.TitleLength
1."Suspended from Class"3:45
2."Keep It Clean"3:13
3."A Sisters Social Agony"3:58
4."Teenager"3:39
5."Before You Cry"2:58
6."Your Picture"3:08
7."Number One Son"4:06
8."Let Me Go Home"3:34
9."Books Written for Girls"5:12
10."Knee Deep at the NPL"5:09
11."Lunar Sea"4:55
Total length:43:37

US edition bonus tracks
  1. "I Don't Want to See You"
  2. "Footloose and Fancy Free"

Australian edition bonus tracks
  1. "San Francisco Song"
  2. "Amigo Mio"

Japanese edition bonus tracks
  1. "I Don't Want to See You"
  2. "Footloose and Fancy Free"
  3. "SF Song"
  4. "Amigo Mio"

Personnel
  • Tracyanne Campbell – vocals, guitar
  • Carey Lander – organ, piano, vocals
  • Kenny McKeeve – vocals, guitar, harmonica, mandolin
  • John Henderson – vocals, percussion
  • Gavin Dunbar – bass
  • Lee Thomson – drums
  • Nigel Baillie – trumpet
  • Geoff Allan – percussion, Stylophone

Production notes:

  • Camera Obscura – producer
  • Geoff Allan – producer, engineer
  • Frank Arkwright – mastering
  • Stuart Murdoch – photography

References
  1. "Reviews for Underachievers Please Try Harder by Camera Obscura". Metacritic. Retrieved 20 April 2018.
  2. Sendra, Tim. "Underachievers Please Try Harder – Camera Obscura". AllMusic. Retrieved 16 October 2011.
  3. Christgau, Robert. "Camera Obscura: Under Achievers Please Try Harder". RobertChristgau.com. Retrieved 15 June 2011.
  4. Rae, Carolyn (4 September 2003). "Records". The List (477): 106. Retrieved 3 April 2021.
  5. Plagenhoef, Scott (20 January 2004). "Camera Obscura: Underachievers Please Try Harder". Pitchfork. Retrieved 16 October 2011.
  6. Hoard, Christian (5 February 2004). "Camera Obscura: Underachievers Please Try Harder". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on 29 April 2007. Retrieved 20 April 2018.
  7. Yang, Ginny (13 April 2004). "Belles of the Ball". Spin. Retrieved 16 June 2019.
  8. "Camera Obscura – Underachievers Please Try Harder". Uncut (81): 78. February 2004. Archived from the original on 30 April 2005. Retrieved 2 March 2020.


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