Geologist - Can I Get A Pack Of Camel Lights? (Album Review)
Wednesday, 04 February 2026
Written by Jacob Brookman
Geologist’s solo debut feels less like a side project and more like a private universe finally given space to blare. Previously best known as Animal Collective’s quiet architect of texture and abstraction, Brian Weitz steps out from the shadows with an instrumental record that trades pop hooks for ritual, drone and slow-burn psychedelic immersion.
‘Can I Get A Pack Of Camel Lights?’ is built largely around the warped whine of a hurdy-gurdy, with the album unfolding in layers as, against the odds, he makes a medieval instrument sound oddly futuristic.
Opener Oracle Road drifts into focus like a radio signal locking onto another dimension, its rolling bass and swelling percussion blooming into something vast and celestial.
From there, Weitz leans into repetition as a kind of hypnosis — a deliberate attempt to stretch moments until they start to shimmer, like a Stewart Lee joke that starts being funny again after the eighth telling.
Tonic is one of the album’s most disorienting pleasures, the hurdy-gurdy distorted into a siren-like wail over twitchy rhythms that feel permanently on edge, while RV Envy erupts into a jagged jazz-funk freakout, its mangled synths and restless pulse recalling a scorched, electric take on psychedelic fusion.
Not every idea lands with equal impact — a few passages verge on soundtrack territory, more atmospheric than essential — but the album never stagnates for long. There’s a genuine sense of play and discovery running through these tracks, as if Weitz is constantly prodding at sound just to see what happens when it bends.
What makes ‘Camel Lights’ so compelling isn’t novelty, but commitment. This is a record shaped by obsession, repetition and curiosity, turning an ancient instrument into a vehicle for warped folktronica, krautrock pulse and cosmic drift. It won’t convert anyone looking for choruses, but for listeners willing to sink into its strange, swirling and humorous world, it’s a richly rewarding trip.
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