Leah Senior on Jimmy Campbell – Jimmy Campbell’s Album 
Over the last few years there have been many corners of the Aussie underground on view here at RSTB, but few have been as captivating as the works of Leah Senior. A diviner of folk forms, a voice in the dark, Senior has a way of commanding attention with just the sound of her voice and the plaintive strum from her guitar. Senior’s works have always teetered between baroque impulses and austere atmospheres, and her latest record is shaping up to be her best yet. In light of its rapid arrival, I asked Leah to dig into a pick for the Hidden Gems series and she’s reached back to the ‘70s for an exploration of Jimmy Campbell’s final album.
“I was in my 20s, living in a big old weatherboard house in the suburbs of Melbourne when this record was brought to my attention through my drummer Luke Brennan, who had heard the song “Salvation Army Citadel” performed on a local community radio station,” recalls Senior. “This is the kind of music I have been primed my whole life for. As a kid I was a Beatles maniac, then moved towards psychedelic 60s stuff and then onto much more solitary sounding records as I began to write songs myself. At the time of this discovery I was living with Zak Olson, aka Traffik Island, who I deeply admire and who opened me up to more theatrical, cynical songwriting of this kind.”
“Jimmy Campbell comes through on this record as a thoroughly washed up narrator, spat out of the Mercy Beat scene and rinsed of any Beatles-y affectation, his unique, slightly wavering voice beaming across the more desolate corners of youtube. I have a weakness for dry, melancholic British vocals and this coupled with highly detailed, self aware lyricism, word play and intimately plucked guitar struck all of my chords at once. I was moved to sit with this album and write it all down in my notebook, word for word, wanting to get inside his sorry head. I am very attracted to vulnerability in music but it can be dangerously diuretic if not tempered with humour and self awareness. Jimmy Cambell’s effortless British playfulness and intimate lyrical details balance out the blue and lend a theatrical tone to the whole thing. It’s a natural sounding record, the arrangements are sparse and old-timey with some restrained performances from his rhythm section, Rockin Horse and sparing strings, an accordion. To me, the songs on this album sound like they weren’t written for an audience and that is what I love so much about them. His tone is casual and conversational which is something I have been trying out more on these last few records.”
A ‘70s curio of the highest order and one that’s found a home among CD reissues and streaming in the past few years. Originals are a bit trickier to come by for the vinyl lover, but the music should pull you in no matter what the format. Leah’s new album is in the queue for later this summer, on the way from Spinster here in the US and Third Eye Stimuli closer to her home. Keep an ear on the feeds for more singles leading up to its June 19th release.
Support the artist. Buy it HERE.