Search - Artist/Band: Aztec Camera

• Band Name: Aztec Camera
• Formed: 1980
• Originated From: Glasgow, Scotland
• Decades Active: 1980,1990,2000
• Genre: Rock
• Styles: Alternative Pop/Rock, Alternative/Indie Rock, College Rock, New Wave, Punk/New Wave
• Moods: Bittersweet, Precious, Wry, Gentle, Literate, Sophisticated, Wistful, Witty, Romantic, Earnest, Laid-Back/Mellow, Melancholy, Playful, Poignant, Quirky, Reflective, Warm, Intimate, Refined/Mannered, Yearning

Title	Release
Deep and Wide and Tall: The Platinum Collection WA	09/13/2005
Love/Stray WA	01/18/2005
Knife/Aztec Camera WA	06/18/2002
The Best of Aztec Camera WA	04/10/2001
Frestonia	11/14/1995
Dreamland	05/25/1993
Crying Scene [CD EP]	06/21/1990
Stray	06/1990
Love	11/1987
Knife WA	09/1984
High Land, Hard Rain WA	06/1983

For most intents and purposes, Aztec Camera is Roddy Frame, a Scottish guitarist/vocalist/songwriter. Several other musicians have passed through the band over the years -- including founding members Campbell Owens (bass) and Dave Mulholland (drums) -- but the one constant has been Frame. Throughout his career, he has created a sophisticated, lush, and nearly jazzy acoustic-oriented guitar pop, relying on gentle melodies and clever wordplay inspired by Elvis Costello.

Aztec Camera released their debut album, High Land, Hard Rain, in 1983. Before its release, Owens and Mulholland had left the group, leaving Frame to assemble the record himself. Upon its release, the album won significant amounts of critical praise for its well-crafted, multi-layered pop. After releasing a stop-gap EP, Oblivious, the group's second full-length record, Knife, appeared in 1984. Produced by Mark Knopfler, the album was more polished and immediate than the debut, featuring horn arrangements and a slight r&b influence. Three years later, Roddy Frame returned with Love, which featured musical support from several studio musicians. Love was a synthesized stab at pop-r&b, resulting in his greatest commercial success -- the album launched four hit singles, including the Top Ten "Somewhere in My Heart."

Two years later, Aztec Camera returned to a more guitar-oriented sound with Stray. It wasn't as commercially successful as Love, yet it was a hit with fans who missed the chiming hooks of Frame's early work. Dreamland, released in 1993, followed the same pattern as Stray and achieved about the same amount of commercial and critical success. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, All Music Guide