Artist: Los Campesinos!
Title: Romance is Boring
Label: Arts & Crafts
Genre: Indie : Alternative
UPC: 827590500020
Territory: USA and Canada
Release Date: 01.26.10
The high energy adolescent explosion that is Los Campesinos! returns with their second full length album, Romance is Boring. Hot off the critically acclaimed and publicly adored 2008 mini-album, We Are Beautiful, We Are Doomed, the seven-piece group hailing from Wales has pieced together a more filled out and firmed LP that leaves none of their unique and admired qualities behind, but rather develops them into a sound that’s bigger, deeper, more complex, and more direct than anything the group has recorded before. Romance Is Boring is filled out with added brass, strings, drum machines, and electronics, and packed with guest spots from proven musicians such as Jamie Stewart of Xiu Xiu, Zac Pennington of Parenthetical Girls, and Jherek Bischoff of the Dead Science. While they may not quite sound like the giddy sugar rush that was powered by adrenaline, youth, paranoia, and angst in their earlier work, Los Campesinos! looses none of their trademark energy, but rather employs it in new, exciting ways.
First off, their sound has clearly been refined and nurtured, leading it to expand and bloom with the help of veteran producer and Broken Social Scene collaborator John Goodmanson (Sleater-Kinney, Bikini Kill, Wu-Tang Clan). The recording itself is layered, complicated, and masterfully puzzled together to create a wild yet harmoniously arranged flare of color, energy and emotion. The group fits in well with the Arts & Crafts records line up, as they, like all A&C artists, manage to musically capture some of life’s most unique and fleeting emotions and moments that everyone experiences, but also has a hard time describing in words. While you may not be able to quite put a finger on exactly what you feel in these situations, it is music like this that can at least capture the feeling, take you back to those moments and trigger a sort of emotional Déjà vu. Los Campesinos! particular brand of nostalgia is enhanced by their newly added instrumentation which gives a previously absent depth to their sound. The builds are more tremendous, the calm bits are even more private and euphoric, and the energy is now driven more by musicianship than the pure, wild adrenaline of a new hot band on the rise. This, in turn, seems to mark a promise that the groups evolution will continue and they will remain an indie-pop staple for years to come.
Like label-mates Stars, the Campesinos have a dual-headed vocal attack featuring male and female parts. Where they differ from stars is the manner it’s employed: Stars uses their call and response strategy to enact adult conversations about affairs, romance, and enticing city nightlife. Campesinos, however, stage young, philosophic arguments about everything and anything that reads as a series of cut up diary entries from a young man and woman in the throes of early adulthood. In a show of their growing maturity, the group includes slower, personal encounters with songs such as “The Sea is A Good Place to Think of the Future” to show a range against their signature explosions like “There are Listed Buildings.” If you were a fan of the last EP, Romance is Boring will deliver everything you love about Los Campesinos! and show you a side of the group never before explored. A great step forward for a talented unit.
Fresh out of the editing room, here’s their brand new video for the title track “Romance Is Boring” via PitchforkTV:
Here’s a track to go off Romance Is Boring to take with you:
Los Campesinos!
“There Are Listed Buildings” (mp3)
from “Romance Is Boring”
(Arts & Crafts)
