• Record Label: Merge
  • Release Date: Jun 6, 2006
Metascore
77

Generally favorable reviews - based on 22 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 17 out of 22
  2. Negative: 0 out of 22
  1. You might not find heartache as enchanting as this anywhere else.
  2. While the songs are undeniably beautiful and even fun, the music provides a vital balance to the album's substantial thematic heft, and it's that combination that makes Let's Get Out Of This Country one of the year's best pop albums.
  3. Under The Radar
    90
    A gorgeous pop album, to say the least. [#14]
  4. While their sound may be familiar, Camera Obscura are anything but run-of-the-mill.
  5. Filter
    88
    Pure and unabashed pop bliss. [#21, p.102]
  6. And the award for most-improved artist of 2006 goes to… Camera Obscura.
  7. This is more than a diary set to music; it’s an interactive map. It is a scrapbook of love gone wrong, including ripped photos, amateur pencil sketches, tear-stained poems, and ticket stubs.
  8. Yes, 'Let's Get Out Of This Country' is a ludicrously fey, coy, twee and light record that could very feasibly be knocked out by an injured butterfly, it's that gentle. But it's also a gorgeously produced, beautifully romantic and ultimately uplifting record.
  9. Uncut
    80
    With [Belle & Sebastian] now seemingly lost to soft-pop pastichery, CO have come out of their shadow and flourished. [Jul 2006, p.84]
  10. Mojo
    80
    Thanks to the vision of singer/songwriter Traceyanne Campbell, this is a killer record, rather than just a pretty one.[Jul 2006, p.102]
  11. Deeply romantic and just as melancholy.
  12. Though they haven't changed much in the span of three terrific albums, Camera Obscura no longer recall Belle & Sebastian; they only sound like themselves.
  13. The collection of ten songs on this album are mostly solid, with some real pearlers and a few that pass you by--but the band is so easy to listen to that you don’t need to be an established fan.
  14. Let's Get Out Of This Country delivers ten perfect pop tunes.
  15. An album full of majestic pop tunes in their absolute truest form.
  16. Spin
    70
    Baroque but not self-indulgent. [Jul 2006, p.83]
  17. Paste Magazine
    70
    The band's finest yeat, with 10 succinct tunes that artfully blend the musical signifiers of the '60s with clever songwriting. [Aug 2006, p.87]
  18. Campbell's voice is a gorgeously mellifluous one, aching at the heart of Country Mile, but sweetness gets monotonous, and the album could do with more jolts of bitter energy, like Lloyd and If Looks Could Kill, to liven it up.
  19. New Musical Express (NME)
    60
    If 'Let's Get Out Of This Country' was a person, you would want to hug it until its big doe-eyes popped out. [10 Jun 2006, p.41]
  20. Q Magazine
    60
    At times the '60s girl-group feel can prove grating, but there's enough here to suggest a future beyond the indie ghetto. [Jul 2006, p.112]
  21. Tracyanne Campbell has a glassy, gorgeous voice, but it’s also a curiously inexpressive one. When she’s left to carry less than strong songs alone, they suffer as a result.
  22. Yet for all its surface appeal, the record has a curiously soulless quality, a lack of vulnerability and humanity that undercuts most of its songs.
User Score
8.6

Universal acclaim- based on 26 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 24 out of 26
  2. Negative: 1 out of 26
  1. Aug 11, 2018
    10
    This is the album that really sold me on Camera Obscura, and what an album! Every song is a favorite! That's simply amazing! Love their sound,This is the album that really sold me on Camera Obscura, and what an album! Every song is a favorite! That's simply amazing! Love their sound, their lyrics, their imagery, and the feeling the music inspires. Full Review »
  2. Darnell
    Jun 26, 2007
    9
    Tops! This album has been in heavy rotation for almost a year now. That says a lot! Sweet, sad, longing. Great.
  3. gstar
    Mar 19, 2007
    9
    Extremely enjoyable, easy listening that somehow sounds unique. I love it!