Some guys have all the luck. Brian Christinzio — the BC of BC Camplight — is clearly one of them. Though from the sound of things, his luck is pretty much all bad. Over the past couple of years, he’s dealt with the death of his father, been deported from his British home and family, and been hobbled by the deep, dark depression understandably brought on by those events. Thankfully, he possesses the enviable ability to turn his personal tragedy into some of the most artistically ambitious and beautifully bleak songs you’ll ever hear — or ever want to. Fusing classic songcraft, impeccable arrangements and blackly humoured lyrics that unflinchingly confront alcoholism, suicide, death, insanity and other grim fare, Shortly After Takeoff leaves you unsure whether to congratulate Christinzio or check up on his well-being. Either way, you’ll realize that no matter what you’re currently going through, your luck really isn’t so bad after all.
THE PRESS RELEASE: “This is an examination of madness and loss,” says Brian Christinzio, the inimitable force behind BC Camplight. “I hope it starts a long overdue conversation.” Fired by his ongoing battle with mental illness, Shortly After Takeoff is the final, and finest, chapter of what Christinzio calls his Manchester Trilogy, following 2015’s How To Die In The North and 2018’s Deportation Blues. All three albums were created after the native Philadelphian had moved to Manchester. Like Deportation Blues, Shortly After Takeoff spans singer-songwriter classicism, gnarly synth-pop and ‘50s rock ’n’ roll, with Christinzio’s similarly distinctive, flexible vocal carrying a fearless approach to lyrical introspection, but the new album is a major leap forward in songwriting sophistication and lyrical communication. “It’s important to stress that this isn’t a redemption story,” he says. “I’m a guy who maybe lives a little hard and I’m in the thick of some heavy stuff. But as a result, I think I’ve made my best record.”
