Cameron McGill Stories Of The Knife And The Back Release Date: October 28, 2003 Label: Post-Important Records Rating: Andy doesn't dig rating stuff. A Polaroid of a seated woman's legs on the cover, with a crinoline skirt and pink shoes - What could possibly be contained inside? Amongst storylike lyrics printed overtop of more Polaroid-style photos of random subjects, no regard given to where the type might be lost, and a simple drawing scrawled on the actual CD (a bird, a gun, a person peeking over a table...) lies the promise of some very interesting and heartfelt music, from someone who appreciates simple things. I feel enriched to finally know Cameron McGill's music. I would have liked to know about this a lot earlier than I did, by accident, at a show that wasn't even his. The opening track, "Long Way Back To California", is a perfect fit for a modern teenage drama (whether or not this is a compliment depends on the person I suppose), along the lines of Phantom Planet's success on The O.C. (to be clear, McGill does not sound like Phantom Planet - it's just that this song would fit such a theme-music vibe). He sings of L.A. at points in the disc as though it's this mystical, far-away place, full of wonder and strangeness - which I guess it sort of is for a boy from Chicago. All through the disc, the songs are pained, longing, loving and sweet stories of McGill's life. They are often rife with frustration, and threaded with whimsy (lyrics like your summer dress in a fight with the wind/I hope it loses and The stars and our body parts aligned/we look our best tonight). Okay, so a lot of it has an emo mentality, but it doesn't 'sound' emo. He shows desperation in songs like "What The Hell (I Love This Girl Danielle)", where he can't tell if the object of his affection feels anything for him. The instrumentation is often fairly subtle, but if you listen closely, is carefully and interestingly layered. A unique blend of trumpets, pianos and strings intermingle beautifully. There's a definite country influence amongst the songs as well. Some tracks, such as "Make-Out Face", are more uptempo, but for the most part, the album is quite calm. McGill's voice is fresh and airy, breathy, soft and easy. Occasionally he breaks in with a big yelp, and at times he seems to be almost speaking rather than actually singing. There are a lot of death analogies ("Ballad of George Dobbins", "Up In Arms"), but this seems to be more metaphorical, or used as a reference point for something else, as opposed to him actually contemplating death. All the love songs on the album somehow have a quality to them that makes them seem as though they are all about someone different, or at least written about vastly different points within one relationship. Courting, lusting, adoration, loving, disinterest, sadness... it's all here, as a book with many pages. On "Tell Me On The Way Back Home", he demonstrates more vocal prowess by throwing in some high-pitched points in the chorus. Later on the CD, there's a track called "Coal Miner's Son" that brings to mind a low-key Wallflowers. "Up In Arms" begins with a series of spacey noises that completely belie the soft content within. So the nifty CD artwork (on top of the quaint visuals, it's also this gorgeous, never-ending, intricate, mutely-coloured cardboard entity like nothing I've ever seen before) and the title work to sum up the disc's journey well. So much love, turned so much around. Lyric of Choice : I know the world is either so much more ugly or beautiful than me/ I know either way that's vanity. Song Of Choice : Toss-up between "What The Hell (I Love This Girl Danielle)" and "Oklahoma (Give Me Company)" Give it a whirl on CordMag's audio player. -Andy Scheffler Elsewhere Cameron McGill website Published : April 22, 2004.