Summer Camp (band)

For the Californian alternative rock band, see Summercamp.

Summer Camp
Summer Camp performing in Hong Kong, 2012
Summer Camp performing in Hong Kong, 2012
Background information
OriginEngland
GenresIndie pop, synthpop, new wave, R&B
Years active2009–2022
LabelsMoshi Moshi
MembersJeremy Warmsley
Elizabeth Sankey
WebsiteOfficial website

Summer Camp were a British indie pop duo, formed in October 2009 by married[1] couple multi-instrumentalist Jeremy Warmsley and vocalist Elizabeth Sankey. They are signed to the Moshi Moshi label[2] on which they have released all four of their full-length albums, as well as three EPs and a film soundtrack.[3]

Summer Camp's musical style has been described as "21st-century alt.pop",[4] but also is influenced by 1960s girl groups[5] and 1980s synthpop.[6] The lyrics, written by Sankey, are often quite dark and deal with failed relationships, conflicts, treasure and teenage obsessions. Along with the band's artwork and music videos they also draw heavily from American culture from the 1960s–1980s.

They started after recording a cover version of I Only Have Eyes for You, a song which Elizabeth had included on a mixtape given to Jeremy. They uploaded their version to Myspace, and claimed to be a seven-piece from Sweden.[7] Their first EP, Young, was released in 2010.[8] In 2011, they released their debut LP, Welcome To Condale, produced by Pulp member Steve Mackey,[9] a concept album set in the fictional town of Condale.[10] In 2013,[4] they worked with Britpop producer Stephen Street[11] on their self-titled second album.

In 2014, they released their soundtrack to Beyond Clueless, a teen movie documentary directed by critic Charlie Lyne.[12] This was followed in 2015 by their third studio album, Bad Love.[13]

In 2019, band member Elizabeth Sankey released a film, Romantic Comedy, a documentary about the genre.[14] In 2020, the band released an album of the same name made up of songs "from and inspired by"[15] Sankey's film.

In 2022, Summer Camp announced their decision to disband.[16]

  1. ^ [1] [dead link]
  2. ^ "Summer Camp: "We don't want to write songs about ourselves, so we've sort of created our own characters that we place into different situations."". The Line of Best Fit. Retrieved 7 October 2020.
  3. ^ "Summer Camp Music Profile". Metacritic.com. Retrieved 20 April 2020.
  4. ^ a b "Summer Camp - 'Summer Camp' | NME". NME Music News, Reviews, Videos, Galleries, Tickets and Blogs | NME.COM. 12 September 2013. Retrieved 7 October 2020.
  5. ^ Subscribe (13 February 2020). "Summer Camp - Romantic Comedy". diymag.com. Retrieved 7 October 2020.
  6. ^ Dazed (21 September 2011). "Summer Camp". Dazed. Retrieved 7 October 2020.
  7. ^ "Summer Camp". Twitter. Retrieved 9 August 2022.
  8. ^ Shaw, Natalie. "BBC - Music - Review of Summer Camp - Young EP". Bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 7 October 2020.
  9. ^ Snapes, Laura. "BBC - Music - Review of Summer Camp - Welcome to Condale". Bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 7 October 2020.
  10. ^ "Album: Summer Camp, Welcome to Condale (Apricot/Moshi Moshi". The Independent. 4 November 2011. Archived from the original on 25 May 2022. Retrieved 7 October 2020.
  11. ^ Partridge, Kenneth (7 August 2013). "Summer Camp Talk Getting Personal, Working With Blur Producer Stephen Street on New Album". Diffuser.fm. Retrieved 7 October 2020.
  12. ^ "Summer Camp - Beyond Clueless OST". The Line of Best Fit. Retrieved 7 October 2020.
  13. ^ "Bad Love by Summer Camp". Metacritic.com. Retrieved 7 October 2020.
  14. ^ "Elizabeth Sankey on Romantic Comedy at SXSW". Uk.lush.com. 27 March 2019. Retrieved 7 October 2020.
  15. ^ "NEWS: Summer Camp return with new album 'Romantic Comedy'". God Is In The TV. 10 May 2019. Retrieved 7 October 2020.
  16. ^ Rettig, James (9 August 2022). "Summer Camp Call It Quits". Stereogum. Retrieved 26 August 2022.