Vancouver band Brass Camel is only a handful of days away from releasing their genre-bending sophomore album, CAMEL.
Progarchy has already seen them perform live the most tantalizing parts of this amazing disc. We can attest that you will be thrilled to hear its contents. The prog is strong with this one.
Clocking in with six tracks across 40 minutes (a runtime supremely suited for those of us with refined vinyl sensibilities), two of those tracks are prog extravaganzas that are over 11 minutes long. Take note, folks: these brilliant tracks open the A-side and close out the B-side. Now that’s how one bookends an album in the most impressive way!
While Progarchy is presently preparing our review of the imminent CAMEL album (SPOILER ALERT: we love it!), here’s a press release from the band to get you so excited you’ll fall off the edge of your seat:
After successfully criss-crossing Canada three times on the strength of a word-of-mouth reputation and a hard-earned live following, Vancouver-based Brass Camel return with their second full-length record: Camel. Clocking in at 40 minutes across just six tracks, the album is an unapologetic artistic statement from a band whose sound resists easy classification—equal parts progressive rock ambition and deep-pocket groove, with no shortage of swagger, surprises, and soul.
Their self-styled “prog-funk” sound may raise eyebrows on paper, but as multiple Grammy-winner Fantastic Negrito put it: “They sound like a funky Rush.” Or, as Big Sugar frontman Gordie Johnson (who also guests on the record as the group’s Zappa-tinged “cat whisperer”) once declared, “Brass Camel…man, they’re good worldwide.”
Following their 2022 debut Brass, the band doubled down—both on the road and in the studio. Camel is the result of that momentum: two 11-minute bookends, four shapeshifting shorter tracks, and zero interest in playing it safe.
The album opens with “Zealot,” a tense, swinging epic about the inquisition inspired by The Pit and the Pendulum, and closes with “Another Day”—a three-part reflection on life, death and the promise of peace in eternal rest, written after the suicide of Sveinson’s sibling. The track climaxes in an explosive Minimoog solo by keyboardist Aubrey Ellefson, which sees the guitars step out of the picture as the trio of Ellefson, bassist Curtis Arsenault and drummer Wyatt Gilson put their respective instruments through the paces, not unlike a hard-rock “The Cinema Show”.
Lightening the tone, bassist Arsenault’s cat Lionel gets his own theme song in “Pick of the Litter,” which melts seamlessly into the riff-heavy “Chain Reaction.” Side B brings the slinky, Little Feat-tinged drug-running tale “On the Other Side,” followed by the strutting “Borrowed Time,” praised by LouderSound in their “Tracks of the Week” feature as a stomping, riff-driven anthem about burnout and the grind with no shortage of swagger and subtle weirdness.
Recorded at Vancouver’s iconic Hipposonic Studios (formerly Little Mountain Sound which saw the likes of AC/DC, Metallica and Aerosmith roll through) and co-produced/mixed by multi-Juno-winner Ben Kaplan (Biffy Clyro, Rise Against, Mother Mother), Camel captures a band at a turning point—gritty, gutsy, weird enough to stand out, yet fun enough to make people move. They’ve played over 120 shows together in the past two years. They’ve got the chops, the chemistry, and the catalog. All they need now is the world to catch up. As Crown Lands’ Kevin Comeau put it after seeing the group live for the first time in 2024, “I have seen the future of prog rock…and it is Brass Camel”.
Brass Camel is: Daniel Sveinson – vocals/lead guitar Curtis Arsenault – bass/vocals Wyatt Gilson – drums/percussion Aubrey Ellefson – keyboards/vocals Dylan Lammie – lead guitar
If you end up listening to this album on streaming (while you are waiting for your vinyl copy to arrive, of course), here are the liner notes for you to keep handy:
Brass Camel – Camel
liner notes
Side A:
1. Zealot
2. Pick of the Litter
3. Chain Reaction
Side B:
4. On the Other Side
5. Borrowed Time
6. Another Day
I.The Crystal Vase
II. Is it Any Brighter?
III. Echoes of Eternity
Brass Camel is:
Daniel Sveinson – electric guitar/vocals
Curtis Arsenault – bass/vocals
Aubrey Ellefson – keyboards/vocals
Wyatt Gilson – drums and percussion
Dylan Lammie – electric guitar
Written, arranged and produced by Brass Camel
Co-produced, engineered and mixed by Ben Kaplan
Mastered by João Carvalho
Recorded at Hipposonic Studios and Camelot Studios
Mixed at Kaplan Krunch
Street scenes recorded at St Peter’s Basilica
Assistant engineering by Jeremiah Gowen
Drum setup by Flavio Cirillo
Special thanks to Gordie Johnson for being our cat whisperer
Progarchy 