Los Campesinos! Romance is Boring
Los Campesinos! Romance is Boring
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Saturday, 30, Jan 2010 12:27
Wichita, out February 1st.
What's it all about?
According to the band, a record "about the death and decay of the human body, lost love, mental breakdown, and football". Sounds a lot like last weekend to me...
Who's it by?
Cardiff kids Los Campesinos! consist of a seven-strong group of charming quirksters, all lovingly surnamed 'Campesinos', though not by birth, mind. Tearing onto the playlists of indie clubs everywhere with the terrific frenzy of You! Me! Dancing!, this is their third record and shows them in a slightly more austere frame of mind.
As an example...
"We turned our back to the church with our trousers around our knees." - Who Fell Asleep In
"I think we need more post-coital and less post-rock." - Straight In At 101
What the others say
"Their sloganeering, haughtiness and mocking dismissal of their dislikes will always remain contentious, but never suggest they dont mean it. This matters more to them than it does anybody else; Romance is Boring is the openly flawed but often brilliant proof." - Drowned in Sound
"What makes this possibly the best album of the band's career is that it represents how sonic exploration can actually go right." - PopMatters
So is it any good?
While the expression may ring around countless dull bandsites, very few songwriters will pour their heart and soul into an album like Gareth Campesinos has with Romance is Boring. If you don't believe this, have a look on Google for his fairly w*nky, but nonetheless heartfelt open letter on discovering the album's leak months before release.
The truth is, though, you don't really need to see that to realise how much has been invested in the third, and ultimately most complete LC! offering thus far. Everything is bigger than their previous fayre, with every bang of bass drum or visceral scream feeling more exaggerated than the last.
It's probably fair to say that it all feels much more important to the band this time around. At times this makes for some epic pop openers In Media Res and There Are Listed Buildings feel like real moments of grandeur, rather than some throwaway dash of deck shoes on a student union dancefloor.
However, in holding up a magnifying glass to their considerable, complex thoughts on love, hate, music and whatever else, the result is often that the charming foibles that once were now become aggravating frays around the edges.
Plan A is a prime example. A chorus heavy, punked-up whirl, it's big, unafraid, and, unfortunately, pretty crap. While it's great that LC! have the balls to come out screaming and shouting like this, the elements of arty indie clich bound up in there make some moments laughable.
Nonetheless, this is a gutsy effort and the addition of a fuller, more ambitious sound is one that suits a band that is best when making plenty of noise. Indeed, tracks like 200-102 are full of the vengeful, razor-sharp spirit that was sadly left behind by British indie bands just about the time this lot arrived.
Fans have been expecting Los Campesinos! to get their heads down and produce a big, big record for the last three years. This may not have quite been it, but there's plenty of reason to expect more before too long.
7/10
Stephen Jones