BC Camplight's Shortly After Takeoff grew out of frontman Brian Christinzio's ongoing battle with mental illness. The LP spans singer-songwriter classicism, gnarly synth-pop and ‘50s rock’n’roll...

Shortly before BC Camplight's release of How To Die In The North (1015) was released, Brian Christinzio was deported and banned from the UK because of visa issues. Estranged from his new home, his girlfriend and his dog, unable to promote his album and back home with his parents, Christinzio sunk deep into the dark. An Italian passport, care of his grandparents, eventually allowed him to re-settle in Manchester, but then just days before Deportation Blues was released in 2018, his father Angelo unexpectedly died.

From this dark and very bleak chain of events came the seed for Christinzio to fashion a backdrop for Shortly After Takeoff. One way to process tragedy is comedy, which elevates this project from grief-stricken vulnerability to armoured bravado, from the black dog of depression to gallows humour. The end result births, from the dark pit of despair, something that feels upbeat and life affirming.

There's always a tinge of melancholy lingering in the background, but of these 9 songs (34 min) personal highlights include 'I Only Drink When I'm Drunk' and 'Arm Around Your Sadness.'

A rich and varied release that gets better every time you replay it.

8

Nick Smithson