One of the most enduring qualities of music lies in its ability to be transportative – the very best songs can take you, almost instantly, to a specific moment in time, or perhaps a particular location, even evoke a specific emotion. It is an immutable relationship we have with the music we listen to, and it is one which the London duo of Elizabeth Sankey and Jeremy Warmsley, aka Summer Camp realise so perfectly, crafting twinkling, pristine pop gems which sound as though they could have been discovered in a trunk in an attic, glinting and glittering like jewels at the bottom of the sea.
We first saw evidence of this on their debut single “Ghost Train”, which reappears on their new, six track EP (appropriately titled “Young”) and sounds as yearning, melancholic and beautiful as ever. “Young” boasts many other sparkling treats besides though, such as the addictive Smiths-meets-Shangri-La’s stomp of “Was It Worth It?”, the gorgeously tropical sway of “Why Don’t You Stay” and the pithy kitchen sink vignettes of “Veronica Sawyer” – think Mike Leigh chronicling the world of John Hughes with equal parts wit and gentle resignation and you’re close.
It also contains the sweetly soaring forthcoming 7” single “Round the Moon”, which plays out, essentially, like Summer Camp in miniature, sounding like the best end-of-prom tune never written, complete with whirling, Magnetic Fields-esque keyboards and the simple yet strikingly poignant lyric “we danced all night and we held each other tight/ till the morning light”. Forget any notions of revivalism – Summer Camp have no truck with that. Their commitment to perfect pop craftsmanship is not in service to the history of music; but rather, to the listener, capturing exactly why the potency of a great pop song remains untouched.
“Young” EP is out on 6 September on CD/ Digital Download. “Round the Moon” is out on 13 September on 7” vinyl.
SINGLE TRACKLISTING:
1. Round the Moon
2. It’s Summer
EP TRACKLISTING:
1. Round the Moon
2. Was It Worth It?
3. Veronica Sawyer
4. Why Don’t You Stay
5. Ghost Train
6. Jake Ryan
UPCOMING LIVE DATES
*- with Frankie and the Heartstrings
September
12 – Bestival, Isle of Wight
October
1 – Lexington, London*
2 – Brudenell Social, Leeds*
4 – Clwb Ifor Bach, Cardiff*
5 – Deaf Institute, Manchester*
6 – Stereo, Glasgow*
9 – Cluny, Newcastle*
10 – Stealth, Nottingham*
SUMMER CAMP – Round the Moon from Paddy Power on Vimeo.