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”

Had a great first day at San Francisco’s Outside Lands Music Festival. The weather was absolutely gorgeous providing the perfect background to some great music. I spent my festival time cautiously today. Since it is my first time here, I chose to acquaint myself slowly on day one and hit things with more gusto over the next two days.

We started our day with a set from Los Campesinos! who Madison fans will remember and who provided just the right amount of energy for an early afternoon. We stuck around and caught The Dodos whose new material was a welcomed soundtrack to the afternoon. Speaking of new material, The National continue to roll out new tunes in concert. I think there were a total of three new ones played yesterday if my memory serves me correctly. The set ending “Mr. November” has become a guarantee lately, but that bother me one bit nor did the rest of the packed crowd.

Pearl Jam closed this down the first night in proper fashion. I had a feeling we might get a special guest appearance by Neil Young last night, but that didn’t happen. Instead, the band channeled Shakey via his catalog with covers of “Throw Your Hatred Down” and the night’s final tune “Rockin In The Free World.” Having seen Pearl Jam plenty of times this one ranks up there in terms of favorites. It was the first time I’d heard them play “Crazy Mary” and The Who’s “Real Me” was the ultimate highlight for me.

Please follow @Muzzleofbees for frequent updates of our festival coverage. Not here, but want to be? YouTube is providing a webcast for the entire festival weekend.

Last night was pure energy bottled up into the University of Wisonsin’s Der Rathskeller that exploded the moment Titus Andronicus his the stage at 9:30 and concluded with a sweaty mess of happy people begging Los Campesinos! for one more song. They didn’t get one more song, but they got a night of incredible enthusiasm, blistering performance, a packed house, and an A+ great time.

Admittedly, I walked into the student union last night as a casual fan of both. Would I pay to see either one of them again? Absolutely. Titus Andronicus really blew me away. Their energy simply stunned me. The crowd was going nuts and people were body surfing. Their music blended old-school surf-rock with an eye towards a club punk band. I heard and felt a lot of The Who and The Ramones too.

I was much more familiar with the Los Campesinos! material, and their set was supremely well-received. Theirs was more dance and upbeat, which pushed the crowd to even higher highs. It was almost impossible to see the band from my stance at the back right because bodies were bobbing up and down in pure enjoyment.

The beauty of the free shows is that it builds an audience base and concert going muscle memory. The opportunity for hundreds to experience two great new bands allows a musical community to build a base, and hopefully encourage and instill the importance and fun of live music that carries on when these bands return to play the clubs. Basically, remember last night and how fun it was and give both of these groups your dough the next time they come through town because they proved last night they’re totally worth it.

Per usual, Muzzle of Bees photographer Ed Oliver was in the thick of it shooting the photographic memories for you to enjoy below. Please leave us a comment with your thoughts, reviews, etc of the show. Thanks for coming!

Titus Andronicus

Los Campesinos!

77 Square: Los Campesinos! and Titus Andronicus tear up Der Rathskeller
Decider: Recap: Los Campesinos! and Titus Andronicus at Rathskeller
Veritas Lux Mea: Los Campesinos at Der Rathskellar concert review
Isthmus: Masses mob Der Rathskeller for Los Campesinos! and Titus Andronicus show

Myspace: Los Campesinos!
Myspace: Titus Andronicus
MP3: Los Campesinos! – “We Are Beautiful, We Are Doomed”
MP3: Titus Andronicus – “Titus Andronicus”

In addition to the hard working kids at the Wisconsin Union Directorate, Muzzle of Bees is proud to help present the fantastic double bill of Los Campesinos! and Titus Andronicus this Friday, February 6th.

The show is free and takes place at the University of Wisconsin’s Der Rathskeller. I’ve got four (4) copies of Titus Andronicus’ Airing of Grievances and four (4) copies of Los Campesinos! We Are Beautiful We Are Doomed to giveaway to the MoB faithful. In order to claim either, you need to be going to the show as I’ll be giving you the record there. So, if you want to check out a great free show plus get a CD of your choice, you should drop a comment below with your choice of album. First come, first serve. I’ll make arrangements with the winners by e-mail. Now accepting concertgoers 1-8….

Update: Thanks everyone – all the free CD’s are all claimed, but please come out and enjoy a night of two great artists for free! See you there.

Myspace: Los Campesinos!
Myspace: Titus Andronicus
MP3: Los Campesinos! – “We Are Beautiful, We Are Doomed”
MP3: Titus Andronicus – “Titus Andronicus”

In addition to the hard working kids at the Wisconsin Union Directorate, Muzzle of Bees is proud to help present the fantastic double bill of Los Campesinos! and Titus Andronicus.

The show is free and takes place at the University of Wisconsin’s Der Rathskeller on Friday, February 6th. We’ll have some great giveaways in the coming days in add

You released two records last year. Could you lend some information on the recording process of Hold on Now, Youngster and We Are Beautiful, We Are Doomed?

Both were recorded in North America and both involved the large consumptions of illegal drugs, questionable sex with groupies and cardigan burning. But in all seriousness they were glorious, we got to work with two very different and amazing producers and push our musical abilities in a lot of unexpected directions (I played the feet of a organ, who would have thought?) Also the studio assistant in Seattle made the most amazing lattes.

Who did the artwork for Hold on Now, Youngster… and how did that come to be?

Sarah Lippett (www.crayonlegs.com) is her name and she is a friend of Gareth’s from Brighton whose work he glimpsed and fell in love with. She wears amazing glasses and is extremely talented. Go look at her website and send her butter milk muffins.

The internet has dramatically altered the way artists can reach an audience. With things like blogs/myspace/etc, what are your thoughts on the power of the internet in terms of helping (or hurting) your music?

We realize that the internet is obviously mostly the reason why we are in the position we are in now, (although I am a bit hungry and I don’t think it is responsible for that, I asked my boyfriend to get me a Kinder egg from the shop and he forgot, so this is mostly his fault.) Without this wonderful cube of fun in front of me, people would never have heard our demos in the first place, and foolishly given us the chance to impress/disappoint them, and we may have had to actually work a lot harder for what we have achieved (like the bands did in the 1960′s.) It does spoil us, but it also can mean there is so much choice that you get a little bit overwhelmed and scared…. well, at least I do. The leaking of records thing is annoying though, it’s like premature ejaculation. Disappointing. It is best to wait and then download it.

2008 just came to an end. We saw a lot of great concerts and heard a lot of great records. Anything from last year that really stood out for you?

Amanda Palmer’s solo album/tour was a highlight, as was being on tour with Parenthetical Girls and No Age and Times New Viking. We were privileged to be able to watch these amazing bands every night, and wonder why the hell we were not supporting them. I also discovered Venetian Snares, which would be amazing to see live, if not trippy and mind boggling.

Can fans expect a resuscitated Los Campesinos! blog once you being your US tour with Titus Andronicus?

Yes! Myself and Alek are warming up our nimble fingers as we speak…. we have had a bit of time off to prepare ourselves for this tour (so forgive us if we are old on and rusty onstage) so haven’t had a lot to write about.

I did want to post a special entry when I got all four series of Battlestar Gallatica, but realized this did not really qualify as “news.”

I will also be writing a rival blog for venuszine, and by rival I mean as rambling and self involved as my contributions to our blog. Also myself and Alek are genuinely shocked/touched (in a sexy manner) when people actually read or ask about our blog, so thank you for caring.

Buy: Los Campesinos!
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Myspace: Los Campesinos!
MP3: Los Campesinos! – “We Are Beautiful, We Are Doomed”

Los Campesinos! will invade the University of Wisconsin’s Der Rathskeller on Friday, February 6th. With the recent release of We Are Beautiful, We Are Doomed and its praise-garnering predecessor, Hold On Now, Youngster…, these guys are definitely on the not to be missed list.

Myspace: Los Campesinos!
MP3: Los Campesinos! – “We Are Beautiful, We Are Doomed”

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