Record Review: Los Campesinos! 'Romance Is Boring'
Categories: Record Review
The Hype: Welsh indie-pop band Los Campesinos! released 2008's Hold on Now, Youngster...(Columbia Arts & Crafts) to strong reviews and decent sales (No. 45 on Billboard's Heatseeker chart). Tiding fans over with the single "the Sea is a Good Place to Think of the Future" last September, they've returned to the indie ranks and finally released the proper follow-up Romance Is Boring (out today on Wichita/Arts & Crafts).
The Judgement: Despite what their new album title Romance is Boring suggests, Los Campesinos! have a knack for making even the most mundane breakup seem important--or at least interesting. As a whole, this album proves that the Cardiff septet can create songs that amount to more than the sum of their carefully constructed parts. Romance is Boring shines with unified, smart storytelling that adds an extra layer of intrigue to the band's lush, pop landscapes.
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Loaded with frantic exclamations of horns, percussion and guitar, "the Sea is a Good Place to Think of the Future" is an epic, melodramatic vignette, departing from the immediate gratification of other tunes like "Straight in at 101"-- though it's hard to argue with "Straight's" lyric: "I think we need more post-coital and less post rock / Feels like the build-up takes forever, but you never get me off." We're confident that die-hard LS! fans will have no problem getting their jollies with this album.
Download These: "Romance Is Boring," "Who Fell Asleep," "the Sea is a Good Place to Think of the Future".
Grade: B+
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