Los Campesinos!

[cobl04]

Fantastic. You won't hear that from me, iYup. It's a brilliant album, their second best behind Romance is Boring if you ask me.

 

[lazarus]

I feel like most felt it was an improvement over Hello Sadness so I don't know if underappreciated is the right word.

I'd still rank Youngster and Romance above it, but it's probably more consistent than WABWAD.

 

[iron yuppie]

I still put We Are Beautiful at the top, though Romance Is Boring and No Blues both challenge it on certain days. No Blues is forlorn even by their standards, so much so that I almost wonder if it was written in response to a personal tragedy of some kind.

 

[cobl04]

It's definitely an improvement on Hello Sadness, on that I think we can all agree.

Cemetery Gaits might have taken over In Medias Res as my favourite LC! song.

 

[LemonMelon]

Avocado, Baby is one of my LC favorites and it has held up over many listens. I do enjoy the album as a whole just a bit more than its predecessor, but less than the others.

Granted, Hello Sadness has grown on me over the years. I still consider it a staple of my depressing autumn rotation. By Your Hand has slowly become a favorite, while Songs About Your Girlfriend and the title track are the band doing what they do best. That said, the second half is really weak. The album starts going off the rails with Hate for the Island and never really gets back to par outside of Death Rattle. The Black Bird and Light Leaves go nowhere.

 

[cobl04]

The first three tracks are all excellent and as you say, them doing what they do best. It goes off the deep end pretty quick thereafter though.

 

[LemonMelon]

Cemetery Gaits might have taken over In Medias Res as my favourite LC! song.

For me, In Medias Res is still on top. It's the song that forced me to give the band a second chance after initially being turned off by their perky early singles (that I now find very charming). The twisting, restless arrangement and vivid storytelling pointed me towards the band's great songwriting.

The weird hybridity of that song sums up the album quite well. Romance Is Boring as a whole remains at the top for me because of its clever blend of electronic experimentation, punk energy and increased maturation. It has everything I like about the band and very little that I don't.

 

[cobl04]

Yes. I remember when I first heard it - and it was the first of theirs I’d heard, so I’m biased in preferring it over Youngster or We Are Beautiful - I remember kind of hating because I couldn’t relate to many of the lovelorn lyrics. But In Medias Res man, that song is astounding, genuinely an all-time favourite by anyone. There’s the slow-burn start, the manic verses, then the darker devolution culminating in all that cacophonous noise, the trumpets, the distorted guitar, the pounding drums after “the sky didn’t once turn black”. Amazing little lyrics like - trace a line around the dent I leave in the ground / that’ll be the initial of the one you’ll marry now I’m not around”, referring to an old kids game of throwing a banana peel on the ground and the initials it forms being the person you have a crush on or whatever.

And then the conclusion, those final six lines, are just an absolutely amazing way of looking at complicated love and relationships. They are so refreshing and unique, they stuck with me from the very first listen and still move me really deeply some six years on. Even just listening to the track right now transports me back to uni, driving to and from on my own, sad about life, listening to it. You can’t put a price on music experiences like that and I’m very thankful to this forum for that.

I'd also like to take this point to say that I Just Sighed is about the most perfect unrequited love song ever written.

 

[lazarus]

The Black Bird and Light Leaves go nowhere.

How can you say Black Bird goes nowhere with that great bridge and chorus? Kim totally earns her keep right there, plus those layered backing vocals in the bg.

Maybe my favorite on the album.

The final song does suck but To Tundra and Baby I Got The Death Rattle are by no means weak.

 

[gump]

This makes this week suck a tiny bit less. Welcome back, LC!

Also, the first song contains my first name.

Los Campesinos! are back - hear 'I Broke Up In Amarante' from new album 'Sick Scenes' | DIY

 

[cobl04]

Oh my god yes ?


Sent from my iPhone using U2 Interference

 

[cobl04]

This has come at the perfect time. I love the new song. Very much an LC! tune but Gareth's vocals have this extra angry edge to them that I really like. I dug the absolute shit out of No Blues and can't wait for this new record. Splatter vinyl pre-ordered.

 

[cobl04]

Okay it seems the splatter vinyl is only available in North America??? WTF? Can one of you buy it for me? I will send you money right away

 

[gump]

Okay it seems the splatter vinyl is only available in North America??? WTF? Can one of you buy it for me? I will send you money right away

Will IM you.

 

[iron yuppie]

Awesome news. I'll probably bite on the screen print vinyl.

 

[LemonMelon]

Another really good album from these guys.

And I'm seeing them tomorrow

 

[Imperor]

It's probably pretty lame of me to not post very often and still come out with hot takes when I feel inclined, but here goes anyway.

I like this album. I generally enjoy Los Campesinos! albums, and I like this one too. It's good.

 

[Imperor]

"Cemetery Gaits"

This post hasn't aged well.

 

[lazarus]

Y'all are telling me NOTHING.

LC! are one of the few artists left where I want to own the physical CD, so I won't have this for a bit (the shipping cost thru their own site was ridiculous). I would have bought ur directly from them at the show, but I decided not to see them.

 

[LemonMelon]

I thought tonight's gig crushed the Hello Sadness gig I saw. Whereas the Hello Sadness tour had constantly shifting momentum due to the emotional left turn the new material took, they've hit on a really nice balance with the current setlist and are representing all albums satisfactorily. The new songs went over well (I Broke Up in Amarante was my favorite of the batch) and all had some extremely memorable moments. Gareth was in fine form tonight: funny, energetic, a bit drunk.

Nice to hear Avocado, Baby and What Death Leaves Behind after missing the No Blues tour altogether. They're really into those tracks right now because that tour never found its way to the west coast.

 

[lazarus]

Damn it.

Although I feel lucky having seen them on their first U.S. tour. Back when ALEKS and ELLEN were still in the band.

Spoiler

Shouter

 

[iron yuppie]

New one seems like a logical extension of No Blues. Not as immediately catchy but still enjoyable.

 

[bono_212]

Work saw me missing all of Crying, and then half of Los Camp!'s set, unfortunately. I really enjoyed the half I saw, but No Blues might be my favorite album of theirs, and they played my four favorite tracks from it, and I only got to see "Avocado Baby", which was killer. And of course, while they played it in Chicago in 2014 (and I was already living in LA), they did not play "In Media Res" .

Maybe they'll be back, who knows. Gareth made it sound like touring the US is insanely difficult for them financially.

As for the new album, on first listen, it sounds like a Los Camp album in 2017. An extension of what they've been doing, but nothing that really gets me. They did play my favorite song from it last night, though, and I got to hear it, so that was nice. I'm anticipating my feelings towards it to warm upon repeated listens.

 

[LemonMelon]

Damn it.

Although I feel lucky having seen them on their first U.S. tour. Back when ALEKS and ELLEN were still in the band.

Spoiler

Shouter

I'm grateful to have seen them with Ellen still on bass. That was her last tour. The new guy is great, but no Ellen.

Kim has no competition anymore, but she was always the cutest.

 

[gump]

Really liking the new one. The vinyl is gorgeous, too. I was afraid a couple of years ago that we wouldn't see more of LC!, but they are still in good form.

I'm going to miss their March 10 concert here because of a trip (exactly same thing happened during the last tour as well). Bummer. If anyone in the NYC area wants tickets, let me know.

 

[PhilsFan]

I bought a ticket for the March 8 show and SHOULD be able to make it, but I am flying home from Florida that day and with my history it seems like a decent bet my flight makes it back too late for me to attend.

 

[Imperor]

Best since Romance is Boring for me.

 

[lazarus]

Hmph.

Were you big on No Blues? Because I still love that one.

 

[iron yuppie]

The review is much more positive than the score suggests:

Los Campesinos!: Sick Scenes Album Review | Pitchfork

 

[Imperor]

Hmph.

Were you big on No Blues? Because I still love that one.

I was, and I also thoroughly love Hello Sadness, but I think this is the strongest collection of songs of the three. The high points are higher for me, there are fewer dull moments, and Side B is legitimately one of my favorite five song stretches they've ever done.

Your mileage, obviously, may vary.