I first discovered Canadian band Brass Camel a few months ago on the Musora YouTube channel. Musora is a companion channel to Drumeo and the feature that drew me to subscribe to it, was their on-the-spot covers series. That’s where they give a band a song to work on and share both the arrangement process and the finished final take. The first one I ever encountered was Leprous doing A-Ha’s Take on Me, which sent me digging back into their archives. It was there that I stumbled across what was described as Brass Camel’s prog rock version of Sabrina Carpenter’s Please Please Please. That in turn lead me to another video, this time the band performing their own 10-minute song, Zealot. (They also list their Top 10 prog bands at the end of the video). I liked what I heard and found them to have a much funkier feel than most prog bands with a hint of psychedelia, I’m surprised I hadn’t heard of them before.
I listened to their first two albums off the back of those videos, their debut is called Brass (2023) and their sophomore record is called Camel (2025). Their latest offering and their third album in just four years, brings both words together, as the fully eponymous Brass Camel. I spent much of my time listening to and ruminating over the album, trying to work out where they sit in the genre. I think progressive funk probably describes it best (What would happen if George Clinton joined Rush? sprang to mind), but as the band themselves have said, do labels really matter?
“Being in Brass Camel presents so many situations which, at first glance, may seem almost paradoxical. The music is funky, yet it’s proggy. It’s dead serious at times and bewilderingly light-headed the very next minute. Onstage the band walks a tightrope between a striving for clinical precision and an ability to let loose like a psychedelic jam band. It is a culmination of these various balancing acts that makes the Camel an incredibly rewarding, fun band to be a part of and I believe it’s also why we can be a tough group to put a finger on. All too often we’re presented with an evaluation, be it a concert/album review or just a quick comment, along the lines of “I haven’t seen anything quite like that, what would you even call that type of music? Is it prog? Is it funk rock? Is it heavy metal?” and that’s what excites us – there are no rules with this band. We’re just Brass Camel and that can mean whatever you want it to mean.” Band member and main songwriter, Daniel Sveinson.
The album was co-produced by the band and one half of Crown Lands Kevin Comeau and it was mixed by Terry Brown. Yes, Terry “Every Rush album from Fly by Night to Signals” Brown!
“Some classic influences here on the new Brass Camel album, so couple that with cool tunes, great arrangements, excellent lyric writing and superb execution by a group of talented musicians – you get great results! Thanks for having me mix this epic.” Mixer, Terry Brown
Thematically there are songs here about everything from the futility of trying (and the opposite viewpoint), B29 aeroplanes, the Titan submersible disaster and civil war. That is worthy of a decent number of prog points for starters.
I’ll be honest, this wasn’t an album that I could get into quickly, it took me a good few listens to get my head around what I was listening to. It’s funny how just a sprinkling of funk shifts something into a different head space. The main thing that I found most difficult to connect with was the vocals, not all the time but when it lent more in the funk direction than into the more typical prog approach was where I sometimes got tripped up. There are junctures where being almost spoken word, a bit shouty, with call and response moments and definite chances to join in at home, work well, but on other occasions it jars and took the polish off the music around it.
This album is so diverse I’m going to dive into individual tracks a bit more than usual. The opening track You’ve Got Time is pure joy and gave me the kind of euphoria I get from Moron Police songs. The intro is classic prog and wouldn’t be out of place kicking off a 70s Genesis or Yes record. Across a relatively short run time, under five minutes, this first song takes you to musical places you didn’t expect and makes you realise these boys can sure play. Pivoting from Dr Teeth and the Electric Mayhem from The Muppet Show to an unsettling circus music swirl akin to early Mr Bungle.
The third song Why Bother is a real highlight. It feels a bit like a mid-period Queen album track and takes me back to Haken’s Elephants Never Forget. It’s full of stabbing piano and rhythm section moments, falsetto vocals, vocal harmonies and a big guitar solo. There’s even a Guns n Roses feel to some of the breakdown sections with almost spoken vocals, Axl would be proud of. And there’s real humour to the song’s what’s the point in trying narrative too.
Song six, Careful what you wish for has a suitably dramatic build up to the opening. The playful storytelling and vocal phrasing are akin to Jethro Tull. And you’ll be chanting “Careful what you wish for, Mrs Leeds” before you know it. Lyrically there is what feels like a nod to Supper’s Ready in here too and I love the overblown drama of this song.
I didn’t always know where they were coming from lyrically, which is where the comprehensive blurb came in handy. One exception to that is Everybody Loves A Scandal, which I realised on first listen explores AI, its use and the reaction to it. This is Brass Camel at their funkiest, and it’s one of the catchiest songs on the album. It also features a lyric I absolutely adored, referencing science fiction writer Isaac Asimov, the creator of the three laws of robotics. There’s a beautiful bait and switch here, that genuinely has you shifting one way, then coming back the other. I laughed out loud on first listen, something that hasn’t happened since the days I was obsessed with Carter USM.
he’s off on his way
the papers said “get back in your bottle”
and he said “not today”
It’s mighty cramped
and you know there’s a chance
that Asimov’s in his grave spinning (the record)
cause you know that he approves
so how about you ignore the words
why don’t you get down with the groove?”
This is the song where the funk vocals work best too, “We wrote this ourselves, could you tell?” is another lyrical highlight.
Last Call is a big anthemic track which is the closest in musical DNA to their fellow Canadians Crown Lands which makes sense considering the co-producer involved. It’s super immediate and despite its dark subject matter, it’s another real earworm and probably the song with the most potential crossover appeal.
The playing on this album is sensational; there are lots of moments that are truly breathtaking and the production helps to bring that to the fore. When it leans more prog rock and less funk is where I’m most comfortable. There are times when I’m really enjoying a section and it’s followed by a part that doesn’t land with me quite so well. That’s unusual for an album with songs that are all under six minutes long. I’m a little frustrated with myself. Surely for music to be truly progressive it needs to surprise and challenge you. But when the songs become the most unexpected is where I tended to lose interest. I think in some ways that is due to the shifts in style that happen mid-song, which sometimes gave me musical whiplash. From a guitar or keyboard solo you’d expect on a traditional prog album with exquisite falsetto vocals, straight into a stop start funkier section with more of a Southern states Preacher style vocal styling that I didn’t resonate with as much. The final track on the album This is Goodbye is the best example of what I mean. There are some Black Crowes style vocal moments, punctuated with Yes vibes and some truly beautiful elements on the song. Once again there’s drama here and a strong storytelling sense, a boldness and sense of adventure that should be applauded.
I’ve played this album a lot while working up my review. On some occasions I absolutely love this album and on others I need time to really get my head in the right place. Only 45 minutes long but that works perfectly, anymore and it would possibly start to outstay its welcome. It isn’t every day that I’ll want to put this on, but on the right days and in the right head space it’s the perfect tonic. I don’t know if that says more about me than the band. But not every album should be your go to every day, true art can be appreciated in different ways on different encounters. Go into Brass Camel’s Brass Camel with an open mind and a finely tuned ear. There’s plenty to love about this record.
TRACK LISTING
01. You’ve Got Time (4:48)
02. What Are You Going To Do (3:42)
03. Why Bother (4:04)
04. Can’t Say We Didn’t Try (3:17)
05. Ice Cold (3:48)
06. Careful What You Wish For (4.48)
07. Everybody Loves a Scandal (4:40)
08. Catch Us If You Can (5:42)
09. Last Call (4:34)
10. This is Goodbye (5:17)
Total Time – 44:40
MUSICIANS
Daniel Sveinson – Electric Guitar, Vocals
Curtis Arsenault – Bass, Vocals
Aubrey Ellefson – Keyboards, Vocals
Wyatt Gilson – Drums, Percussion
~ With:
Dylan Lammie – Leslie Guitar (3 & 10), Rhythm Guitar (6)
Cat Madden – Vocals (2)
ADDITIONAL INFO
Record Label: Minotaur Records
Country of Origin: Canada
Date of Release: 15th April 2026
LINKS
Brass Camel – Website | Facebook | Bandcamp | YouTube | Instagram
