BC Camplight - A Sober Conversation (Album Review)
Monday, 30 June 2025
Written by Maddy Howell
Having walked a tightrope between tragedy and comedy throughout his seven studio albums, Brian Christinzio has established a reputation as someone unafraid to navigate the dark. His songwriting is wrought with turmoil but tinged with light-hearted quirks, and BC Camplight has become a vessel to wrestle with his mental health struggles amid life’s turbulence.
His records have dealt with the uncertainty of a brief deportation back to the USA, the loss of his father, and the agonising breakdown of a long-term relationship and while each chapter of his story has been coloured by pain, often ‘A Sober Conversation’ finds Christinzio painting with lighter strokes despite its nine tracks facing trauma head on.
The ominous synth drones of opener The Tent lead into a contemplative country piano ballad, and the atmosphere is set for a record that's emotionally taxing and empowering all at once.
Confronting the aftermath of childhood pain and the clarity of sobriety, there’s a noticeable shedding of the shame, distress and discomfort of his previous persona, one that bleeds into every haunting, hard-fought note.
The sweeping surrealism of Two-Legged Dog (featuring The Last Dinner Party’s Abigail Morris) swells into something beautifully uplifting, while the record’s sentiments are perhaps summed up best in its back half. Where You Taking My Baby? embraces an imagined scenario where Christinzio converses with the summer camp counsellor responsible for his abuse, approaching the dialogue with heart-shattering forgiveness.
Then, on the stirring Rock Gently In Disorder, he croons softly, explicitly addressing the confusion and anger of his trauma: “Picture your favourite dream / and then pretend someone took it from you.” But these moments are balanced out by Christinzio’s ability to swerve into humour — see the frustrated outburst on the monotony of small talk and niceties during Drunk Talk — and create something close to his magnum opus.
‘A Sober Conversation’ is an artist committed to channeling his innermost thoughts into the most charmingly intense, gorgeously thought-provoking songs. In darkness and in light, Christinzio is a master.
BC Camplight Upcoming Tour Dates are as follows:
Sun August 03 2025 - EDINBURGH La Belle Angele
Thu October 30 2025 - BRISTOL Electric Bristol
Sat November 01 2025 - LEEDS Project House
Tue November 04 2025 - NORWICH Arts Centre
Wed November 05 2025 - LONDON Roundhouse
Thu November 06 2025 - CARDIFF Tramshed
Fri November 07 2025 - EXETER Phoenix
Sat November 08 2025 - SOUTHAMPTON 1865
Wed November 12 2025 - NEWCASTLE UPON TYNE Boiler Shop
Thu November 13 2025 - GLASGOW QMU
Fri November 14 2025 - MANCHESTER O2 Apollo
Sun November 16 2025 - NOTTINGHAM Rock City
Tue November 18 2025 - DUBLIN Button Factory
Wed November 19 2025 - BELFAST Mandela Hall
Thu November 20 2025 - GALWAY Roisin Dubh
Fri November 21 2025 - LIMERICK Dolans
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