Album Review: Romance is Boring - Los Campesinos!

Los Campesinos' third studio album (of four), Romance is Boring was released in 2010 to follow up the band's two album releases in 2008: Hold On Now, Youngster... and We Are Beautiful, We Are Doomed. The whole album is strong, and I would definitely recommend it. I'm not sure how I ever considered this band as electronica (they're not, at all, in any sense of the word), but the crazed guitar work on this and earlier albums might be a clue. As is my wont, I'm going to list a couple of my favorite tracks - in case you want to check them out before you buy:


"There Are Listed Buildings" - Possibly the most reminiscent of Hold On Now Youngster, this second of the album's singles earns its place with quick guitars, an upbeat percussion track, and great lyrics.


"Romance Is Boring" - Fast, angry without losing its heart, and with a really fantastic music video to boot. Deserving of its position as the title track and third single.



"Straight In At 101" - What might be the best breakup song of all time, this is certainly far out in front in the running for Los Campesinos' most explicit tune. That, however, is its charm: lyrics like "I've been playing straight chicken with gay girls (it's never enough)", it's not hard to feel the singer's frustration.


"The Sea Is A Good Place To Think Of The Future" - I didn't really realize that this band could write a truly sad song. I was wrong. Dialing their characteristic speed and energy back doesn't stop the rapid-fire vocal delivery, and the contrast only makes this first single all the more affecting.


You can check out a handful of Los Campesinos' stuff on the KEXP Song Of The Day podcast, which usually releases at least one song from each of their albums.

Best band (electronica)

My love of Passion Pit began with their first EP and has lasted ever since. Their fantastic debut was dampened slightly but what I regard as a less-impressive LP release (still great! I just liked Chunk of Change a whole lot more!). Surprisingly enough, this post is not about Passion Pit. They are the runners-up.

The glory (small as it is) here has to go to Los Campesinos!, whom I have been enamored with for a little longer. They've also been around longer, though I got only that train a little late (early enough to catch their debut full-length, though). I also haven't yet picked up their newest LP (Romance Is Boring) because I can't really afford it, but based on the tracks I've heard I'm willing to give this category to them anyways. The title track alone is good enough to warrant a purchase. A friend of mine (my erstwhile partner in this whole blogging business) showed me one of their videos, and I grabbed Hold On Now, Youngster on vinyl (it comes with some great pack-ins: a poster and a second platter with an extra song on one side and some art engraved on the other).

To summarize what Los Campesinos do with music, I'm going to go with saying that they manage to tell a coherent idea through nearly incoherent lyrics. Every line, on its own, would seem to be part of a nonsense song. It's not entirely unfair to say that some of their numbers are nonsense songs. But then you get one like You! Me! Dancing! or International Tweexcore Underground, that tells an involved narrative about the music scene and its effects on people, and you're forced to realize that you're listening to incredibly poppy electronica with a finely-honed edge, and that it actually has something to tell you.

Since I've apparently gotten myself into a cycle of including lyrics in my posts, one of the best ones off the top of my head is: "We have to take the car, 'cause the bike's on fire/We cannot trust your friends, 'cause they were born liars" from "This is How You Spell 'Hahaha We Destroyed the Hopes and the Dreams of a Generation of Faux-Romantics'". Yes, Los Campesinos write more eloquent song titles than most bands write song lyrics.