Album Review: Camperdown & Out - Couldn't Be Better

Some people make songs like normal people make sandwiches. The difference between some people and normal people is that normal people can't get by on sandwiches alone, whereas Camperdown & Out – made up of members from local acts Raw Prawn, Royal Headache, Marf Loth and Dead Farmers – get by just fine churning out songs the rest of us either a) couldn't be bothered to make or b) have already eaten for lunch. This is meant in a good way.

Couldn't Be Better is a suburban indie songbook imparted through the eyes of a post-grad pre-children 20-something person that lives west of the city, plays in a band and feels they eventually have to choose between a life where you get to record and play music or one where you have to get a full-time job and start earning a 'proper' living. This is perfectly summed up in Out Of Time and listeners will find the familiarity and irony of the indie song's unembellished approach either maddening or endearing, depending on your individual tolerance level. For example, the first three songs – entitled Manly, Don't Have A Dog and St Peters – are about, you guessed it, catching a ferry to Manly, not having a dog and the suburb St Peters. Overall though, Couldn't Be Better is full of catchy shit and you will find yourself as this reviewer did, humming the line “What will I do in manly?” over and over and over.

Music like this is fun and although minutely annoying, it's difficult to hate.