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Reviews

Brass Camel — Brass
(Bandcamp Dromedary Recordings XH-558, 2022, LP / DL)

Brass Camel — Camel
(Bandcamp Dromedary Recordings XH-559, 2025, 2CD / LP / DL)

Brass Camel — Brass Camel
(Bandcamp no#, 2026, CD / DL)

by Jon Davis, Published 2026-04-19

Brass Cover artCamel Cover artBrass Camel Cover art

When Brass Camel’s second album showed up in my inbox, I’d never heard of the band, but from the first few seconds of “Zealot” I knew I was in for something special. It’s a killer example of contemporary progressive rock that forges its own path rather than just following in the footsteps of the classics. But like I said, that was their second album, so when I got a chance, I checked out their debut. Brass came out in the fall of 2022, and it shows a band already with a distinctive sound. The comparison that keeps coming up for me is Crack the Sky’s Safety in Numbers (1978), with bits of Queen’s Sheer Heart Attack (1974) and Sweet’s Level Headed (1977). The uniting factors here are tight rhythm parts, charismatic lead vocals, and elaborate vocal harmonies in a fairly high register. Certainly the band Camel is nowhere in the mix, but that’s neither here nor there. Rhythmically, there’s an underpinning of funk tied to their fondness of putting accents on offbeats. Led Zeppelin did that sometimes as well, but with a much looser feel. Many of the songs have a proggy tendency to change tempo or meter between sections. They’re as precise as a technical metal band, though the guitar tones are never that overdriven. On the first album, this band from Vancouver, British Columbia consisted of Daniel Sveinson (vocals, guitar, keyboards), Curtis Arsenault (bass, vocals), and Wyatt Gilson (drums), with a few guests on various tracks. All in all, it’s an outstanding debut recording.

Moving on to 2025, the second album was titled Camel, and they added two more members into the fold: Aubrey Ellefson (keyboards, vocals) and Dylan Lammie (guitar). The basic style is intact, just refined a bit, and the prog element is brought more to the fore, with two tracks topping the eleven minute mark. Any old school prog fan can just listen to “Another Day” and know they’re in the presence of a really special band. Between the ripping synth solo and the high-energy odd-meter workout, this is pure proggy goodness, but also ridiculously catchy and accessible. I can’t even pick favorite tracks — the whole album is remarkably solid.

And now in April 2026, they cap off their initial trilogy of albums with (what else?) Brass Camel. Lammie has departed, leaving a core quartet to carry on. According to the band’s statements, this album was entirely the work of the four, while the previous album had contained material first written in the band’s early days. As such, they regard it as their first real statement of their evolved sound. It’s also becoming apparent that there’s a little bit of Rush in the mix, though there are no extended-length tracks this time out — maybe Permanent Waves (1980) is a good touchpoint. As each track unfolds, I’m continually thinking, “Holy crap! Another great one!” and they never let me down. And now, before I start repeating myself embarrassingly, I urge you to visit them on Bandcamp, and add these great albums to your collection. They even have some of that physical media stuff for those who are into that.

Filed under: New releases, 2022 releases, 2025 releases, 2026 releases

Related artist(s): Brass Camel

More info
http://brasscamelband.bandcamp.com

 

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