By Tyler Fassnacht
New Music From Welsh Romantics
In Medias Res, the first track on Los Campesinos!’ new album, Romance is Boring, opens with a sprinkle of xylophone and builds up layers until it halts and is brought back to life like Frankenstein’s monster with deep industrial drum machines, only to end with blaring melodic horns that leave you feeling all tingly inside. This whirlwind of textures and different sounds is a good introduction to what this album has to offer.
The seven piece indie-pop band from Wales comes back with their third album, which is full of influences ranging from hardcore punk to baroque. Romance is Boring doesn’t bring any new cards to the table though, for Los Campesinos! have always been rather eclectic with their style and their new effort stays close to what the band is comfortable with, but it wouldn’t be wise to disregard the album as a different record of the same music. What Los Campesinos! have managed to do this time around, is refine all their techniques and pack all the catchy hooks and thick instrumentation that we are used to, into an album that is engaging from start to finish and at 48 minutes, the longest Campesinos! album yet, it still feels like it’s over too soon.
A major reason why this album is so enjoyable from start to finish is the clever placement of the slower, laid-back songs when the fast, sugary pop songs start getting too sweet. Tracks like “Who Fell Asleep in,” and “The Sea is a Good Place to Think About the Future,” show a more gentle side to Los Campesinos! that really tugs at the heart of the listener.
One thing that does get a little exhausting though, is the sheer amount of emotion packed into this album. Even though the title is Romance is Boring, Los Campesinos! still come across as the hopeless romantics who beam with joy when they get the girl and who sulk and mope when they don’t, both of which are common happenings throughout the album. Lead singer Gareth, sings lines like, “I think I’d do it for love if weren’t for the money,” “I remember being naked, but not in which direction,” and “I said ‘you’ve taken the diet too far, you’ve got to let it slip,’ she’s not eating again.” With blunt, brutally honest, heart-on-sleeve lyrics, Los Campesinos! hides behind their catchy, innocent sounding pop music, while singing angsty songs about sex, drugs, death and relationships. In fact, every song on Romance is Boring has something to do with romance or love in general, with some being positive and some negative.
Romance is Boring, is the edited, returned draft of the essay that is Los Compesinos! and they really have something to be proud of. For people who were never into the band, this album probably won’t win too many people over, but fans will fall head over heals for almost every song. If this is their take on boring romance, I don’t think I could handle what they would consider exciting.
Previously: Review: Los Campesinos!/Titus Andronicus – Rathskeller
Previously: 5 Questions with Los Campesinos!
Buy: Los Campesinos! – Romance Is Boring
MP3: Los Campesinos! – “Romance Is Burning”
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