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Los Campesinos! have Been Through Some Shit, and now they are going to Work It Out. Previous limited-release We are Beautiful, We are Doomed showed the band moving in an darker, more reflective direction and Romance is Boring continues this beautiful, affecting downward spiral of emotion.
Full review (and videos) after the JUMP!
Honesty, sometimes brutal, has always been a hallmark of Gareth Campesinos!’s writing and he continues with this unabated on the new record. He covers the full gamut of subject matter, from good sex to bad, religion, fear, hope, and everything in between. The frank, bleak and somehow redeeming The Sea is a Good Place to Think About the Future is probably the highlight of the record, bearing some of the most searingly open lyrics I have ever come across (‘I grabbed hold of her wrists and my hand closed from tip to tip/I said you’ve taken the diet too far, you’ve got to let it slip/But she’s not eating again’) as well as boasting some nicely understated orchestration. As such, it grabs you about the throat and jerks a massive emotional response from your gut with its talk of eating disorders, helplessness, hopelessness and the oblivious continuation of life. I’m making it sound like a dirge, but really it’s just incredible and I could write about it for hours, so I’m going to stop now. The close of Straight in at 101 is a particular lyrical triumph, dripping with the tongue-in-cheek distortion of youth’s preoccupation with its own ‘tragedies’ (‘I phone my friends and family to gather round the television; the talking heads count down the most heart-wrenching break-ups of all time. Imagine the great sense of waste, the indignity, the embarrassment, when not a single one of that whole century was mine.’)
There are still sights of the ‘old’, ebullient Campesinos!, particularly on tracks such as Romance is Boring, though again there’s more bite to the lyrics than previously and (PLAN A) shines with desperate aggression as both the vocals and instruments truly let rip. What’s going on in most of these songs is just too big to try and wrestle into any kind of rhyming scheme so, more often than not, rhyme is done away with altogether, with rhythm and tone utilised as impressive replacements. There are some seriously impressive licks and melodies on show here too, from the slightly video-gamey opening of I Warned You: Do Not Make an Enemy of Me, the glock and brass-accented line of There are Listed Buildings or the mid song electric screeches of RIB. There’s less mania about the compositions, with the band no longer feeling they need to prove themselves by playing every instrument within arm’s reach on every track (though previously I had considered this part of their charm). They now seem confident enough in their ability and scope to lay off the layering a bit and be more selective, and it works perfectly on this collection of songs.
Los Campesinos! are a band blossoming out of youth and settling into the dark, twisty and awkward world of adulthood with courage and some great tunes – and long may they continue to grow.
WN Rating: 8/10
Here’s a few of vids of the songs mentioned above for your melodic information…
The Sea is a Good Place to Think of the Future
Romance is Boring (MENTAL video)
There are Listed Buildings
