Los Campesinos! - We are Beautiful, We are Doomed

EDITOR’S NOTE: Today we welcome a new writer, Nick Parker, to our team of bright and beautiful contributors on the RSL Music Blog. Nick, a professional freelance studio engineer right here in Boston, is also a blogger in his free time. Along with bringing fresh blood and creativity, Nick happens to be British, perhaps bringing a fresh perspective and a bit of old-world class to our page. (We asked him to start today with a band with the UK.) We welcome Nick and look forward to more!

DATELINE: CARDIFF, The UK: There is something of the scene in Britain at the moment that reminds me of what popular music has been about since its inception: in a phrase; “It’s for the kids.”

ON REVIEW: When I saw Los Campesinos! at the Paradise a few months ago, singers Gareth and Aleksandra walked right past me, and I remember thinking “how can they let those children in here!” Like the excellent Eastern Lane, or The Wombats (who recently passed through TTs), Los Campesinos! show us that the young have taken over (again).

It’s not that I’m some ancient old geezer, but for those unaware, Los Campesinos! look and sound like they’re just 16 years old. Seven young people at play on the record can explode in your ears and make you feel like an aging never-was! I don’t want to give the wrong impression here – they may be young, to some ears, but their music can reach out to those beyond their teenage years.

This new album from the band is We are Beautiful, We are Doomed, and it has some weight too, it must be said. Gareth sings that ‘he hopes his heart gives out first of his ever more decrepit organs.’ His feelings are real – all the more stirring somehow for the laughs he gives us at lighter moments in the album – but there is something still youthful in his desperation, so it doesn’t feel the same as a similar line from, say, Nick Cave.

This second album, even more than their debut, “Hold on Now, Youngster” (and the simply great single “You! Me! Dancing!”) gives us all something to celebrate. This band writes songs full of the humor and play a bit like Welsh compatriots the Super Furry Animals, but with a cacophonous sound of strings, guitars, keyboards, vocals, harmonies, bass and drums which slam together into bouncing pop music.

Listening to Los Campesinos! is like watching yourself growing up, with a little angst, but lots more exuberance, dancing, drinking, loving, fun. If you’re their age, check out this album and feel completely connected to a scene. If you’re my age (or, god forbid, actually older!), listen to this album like a rose-tinted time machine.

BONUS mp3 LINK: Tom Campesinos’ Remix of Tokyo Police Club’s Tessellate!

[Los Campesinos! play the Paradise on 13th February]

Los Campesinos!
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