Here’s the video for ‘Romance is Boring’, the title track from Los Campesinos!’s latest album length offering. The Welsh band’s music is quirky, so it makes sense that their videos would be equally quirky. And this one features streaky mascara, a book cover that comes to life, and a kid dressed up like a superhero. ::quizzical eyebrow::

‘Romance is Boring’, the latest album from Los Campesinos!, will be released on 01 February. You can read the TGTF review of the album here.

There are two things about about Los Campesinos! that really get on my nerves. In my opinion, bands should never have punctuation in their names – it just makes it awkward to write about them. And second, ridiculously long song titles like ‘A Heat Rash in the Shape of the Show Me State; or, Letters from Me to Charlotte’ come off as a bit pretentious. So I was skeptical, but I decided to give the Cardiff seven-piece indie-pop band’s new album, ‘Romance Is Boring,’ a chance.

The album is not a massive departure from their previous offerings, ‘Hold On Now, Youngster’ and ‘We Are Beautiful We Are Doomed,’ so fans of their distinctive sound should be pleased. Their Web site describes it as ‘a record about the death and decay of the human body, sex, lost love, mental breakdown, football and, ultimately, that there probably isn’t a light at the end of the tunnel.’ And while this pessimism is certainly present in lyrics like “I’m so sorry to have put you through / a lifetime of dedications you never desired,” the songs that really stand out are the most energetic and upbeat-sounding on the album.

‘In Medias Res’ is a slow-building song with tinkling bells and earnest violin that eases you into the album, but the next three tracks are where it really shines. Single ‘There Are Listed Buildings’ (watch the video below) is bouncy and has many singalong moments with its “oohs” and its “ba ba daas” that I expect will make it a crowd favorite when they tour the UK this February and March. Next up is the title track, ‘Romance Is Boring’. It has by far the catchiest chorus (“You’re pouting in your sleep / I’m waking still yawning / we’re proving to each other / that romance is boring“) and features siblings Gareth and Kim trading off on vocals. Fourth track ‘We’ve Got Your Back (Documented Minor Emotional Breakdown #2)’ is the most interesting, starting out with a series of beeps and other noises, and alternating between fuller and more sparse instrumentation throughout the song. It’s also got some of the best lyrics on the album, like “I’ve learned more from these toilet walls / than I’ve learned from these words of yours / your feelings are buried in scriptures and fictions / It’s all in the words but I’m here for the pictures.” Another standout track is ‘Straight In At 101′, a song about an uneventful breakup, lamenting “The talking heads count down the most heart-wrenching breakups of all time. / Imagine the great sense of waste / the indignity, the embarrassment / when not a single one of that whole century was mine.”

The rest of the album is fairly average, but has great moments like the jangly guitars and strange sounds in the interlude ‘200-102′ and the shouted “CAN WE ALL PLEASE JUST CALM THE FUCK DOWN?” at the beginning of ‘This Is A Flag. There Is No Wind.’ One of Los Campesinos!’s strengths is in their clever lyrics, so it’s a shame that in some tracks like ‘Plan A,’ they’re very hard to decipher. But overall, ‘Romance Is Boring’ is anything but boring: it’s a fun album with a few standout tracks that will surely please their fans. Da iawn, Los Campesinos!!

‘Romance Is Boring’ will be released on 01 February 2010 on Wichita Recordings. They will be touring the UK in from 11 February to 04 March 2010. Click here for TGTF’s previous post about the tour.

HUNKS + Friends – ‘The Magic of Christmas’ ft. Sky Larkin, Los Campesinos!, Slow Club + more

Normally, Christmas records are a load of crap. I’ve received several this year already, the vast majority are just depressing. However one has taken me by surprise – it’s mot pretending to be big budget, nor particuarly great, instead it’s just an exercise in fun. Featuring: (deep breath please…) Sky Larkin, Los Campesinos!, Sparky Deathcap, My First Tooth, The Airborne Toxic Event, Copy Haho, James Yuill, Sound of Arrows, and written by Bright Light, Bright Light’s Rod Thomas, it’s fun, doesn’t pretend to be high quality and is just a good ol’ fashioned Christmas sing-along. The video isn’t half bad too – lots of fancy hat swapping.

It’s being released on Monday 14th December and all proceeds are donated to the RSPCA (Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals).

The marvellous Los Campesinos! have announced a string of 2010 UK tour dates, playing some of their biggest shows yet, and also in some new places that they’ve yet to visit.

Tickets for some of these dates are on sale now, and some go on sale soon. Tickets are priced between £9 and £12 each.

Thursday 11th February 2010 – Wrexham, Central Station
Friday 12th February 2010 – Liverpool, EVOL@O2
Saturday 13th February 2010 – York, Fibbers
Monday 15th February 2010 – Aberdeen, Tunnels
Tuesday 16th February 2010 – Dundee, Dog House
Wednesday 17th February 2010 – Edinburgh, Bongo
Thursday 18th February 2010 – Derby, The Venue
Friday 19th February 2010 – Leicester, Queen’s Hall
Sunday 21st February 2010 – Cambridge, Junction
Monday 22nd February 2010 – Norwich, Arts Centre
Tuesday 23rd February 2010 – Brighton, Audio New Slang Night
Wednesday 24th February 2010 – Portsmouth, Wedgewood Rooms
Thursday 25th February 2010 – London, KOKO
Friday 26th February 2010 – Falmouth, Princess Pavillion
Saturday 27th February 2010 – Bristol, Thekla
Monday 1st March 2010 – Birmingham, Rainbow Warehouse
Tuesday 2nd March 2010 – Northampton, Roadmender
Wednesday 3rd March 2010 – Reading, Plug & Play
Thursday 4th March 2010 – Kingston, Banquet New Slang

The finest band to come out of Wales since the Manic Street Preachers, Los Campesinos! have decided to give away a sneak peak of their forthcoming third album.

As one of the few bands of the 2007 crop of break out bands that have punctuation marks and are still using them, LC! took me a while to get into, but have some immense songs (c’mon, who doesn’t like “Sweet Dreams, Sweet Cheeks”?)

Listen and enjoy this one, and watch the home-made video below.

MP3: Los Campesinos! – The Sea Is A Good Place To Think Of The Future

http://www.vimeo.com/6466859

One of the bands that I haven’t written much about, but greatly admire is Los Campesinos! who have announced an October UK tour.

Support for all dates (except Cardiff, which is a festival lineup) comes from Copy Haho and Sparky Deathcap .

All shows are 14+, and tickets are on sale. There’s more information from their great site. Catch the guys at:

Wednesday 21st October 2009 – Coventry Kasbah
Thursday 22nd October 2009 – Southampton Joiners
Friday 23rd October 2009 – Exeter Phoenix
Saturday 24th October 2009 – Cardiff Gate (As part of SWN festival)
Monday 26th October 2009 – Manchester Deaf Institute
Tuesday 27th October 2009 – Newcastle University
Wednesday 28th October 2009 – London Garage
Thursday 29th October 2009 – Oxford Academy 2 (Zodiac)
Friday 20th October 2009 – Leeds Cockpit
Saturday 31st October 2009 – Glasgow King Tut’s

It’s been a pretty amazing year for music around the UK, and following on from my top 10 of 2007, here is my top 10 of 2008.

10 – Viva Stereo – Roar Lion Roar
You’ve probably not heard much about this Scottish collective. However, their third album was a surprise favourite for me – anthemic, accessible, slightly My Bloody Valentine and yet still so gorgeous.

Read more about Viva Stereo here.

Favourite: Knee High Boots.

9 – Sigur Rós – Með suð í eyrum við spilum endalaust
As ever, an amazing collection from the Icelandic group. More pop than previous albums, their songs sound all the more amazing. I caught them live at Hydro Connect Festival in Scotland, where they preceded Franz Ferdinand and blew them out of the water. As the sun went down, they soundtracked the festival for us, showing their sense of humour and making beautiful music that had more than a few grown men in tears.

Favourite: Inní mér syngur vitleysingur

8 – Ra Ra Riot – The Rhumb Line
Dark in places, Ra Ra Riot come from the same school of musical geekiness as Vampire Weekend, but with a bit more serious and a bit less money. Dark in places, the group are still recovering from the death of their drummer in summer 2007, which shows on tracks like “Winter ‘05″.

Favourite: Dying is Fine

Read the rest of this entry »

So yesterday I went to see Batman: The Dark Knight at London’s IMAX cinema, and we were blown away at the quality and sound of it on such a big screen. I’d already seen it before on a normal cinema screen, but yesterday was definitely worth the three hour journey each way. Of course, with so much time on a bus and tube, I got through some serious listening on my iPod.

Having received Bloc Party’s Talons on Tuesday night, it’s been pretty much on repeat the whole time. Simply amazing, and is so far right up there with Ion Square as my favourite track of Intimacy. The video fits the song perfectly, and is suitably dark and brooding as Kele’s lyrics.

The press release comments:

Talking about Talons singer Kele said, “we wanted to keep things fresh and we thought the fans would be more excited to get a new song rather than something off the album. Talons is one of the last songs we recorded during the Intimacy sessions and I always had it in mind to be one of the extra tracks we promised for the CD if it turned out well. It turned out great so we decided to make it the next single. I’m enjoying this way of working, not over-thinking things, just make a decision and get on with it! It’s quite liberating in a way, I’m sure it’s going to be the way things happen more and more in the future”

Could this mean that they announce whole tours this way? I’d kinda like it if they just announced “oh, we’re playing London’s Astoria next Wednesday… and then Bristol’s Academy… and maybe some more venues too, we haven’t really decided yet!”. However I doubt they’d do that, for the logistical problems. But it’d be cool.

In my inbox this morning I found a link to a company that film live concerts in Europe, Fabchannel. I haven’t come across them before, but WOW. They have a great range of full gigs filmed on the continent, in amazing quality. I sound like I’ve been paid to gush this much, but I think it’ll be providing me with several evenings of entertainment. They sent me a link to Jack McManus who I haven’t come across before, and sounds pretty good at first listen, but I also came across full sets from Bloc Party, Delays, Los Campesinos (including the “most polite stage invasion ever”), The Courteeners, Pipettes… well, I could go on and on. You get the picture!

Finally, I found in my inbox an MP3 that I’d forgotten about. Sent to me about 4 weeks ago, Melbourne based Ancient Free Gardeners have a great sound – dreamy, a bit Shins-esque, with hints of The National and Radiohead shining through. Download the free MP3, and stop by their myspace to show some love – I’m sure they’d appreciate it.

MP3: Ancient Free Gardeners – Innards Out

Los Campesinos! have announced that they’ll be hitting the road in October with LA based No Age and Ohio’s Times New Viking. They’re calling it the “Shred Yr Face tour”, and it’s taking place in association with the Coalition / Rough Trade Shops and Drowned in Sound.

Los Campesinos! have also given members of their mailing list a free MP3 of a track which didn’t quite make their debut album:
MP3: Los Campesinos! – How I Taught Myself To Scream

Tickets are on sale now, priced between £10 and £12 for each date.

Tuesday 14th October – Brighton Komedia
Wednesday 15th October – Liverpool Carling Academy 2
Thursday 16th October – Leeds Irish Centre
Friday 17th October – Dublin Whelans
Saturday 18th October – Glasgow School of Arts
Monday 20th October – London Electric Ballroom
Tuesday 21st October – Bristol Fleece
Wednesday 22nd October – Manchester Academy 3

Los Campesinos! have announced a gruelling tour that sees them play 11 shows in 11 days in the middle of April.

Their debut album, Hold On Now, Youngster, is released today, so tickets are sure to go soon.

Most dates are on sale now from the local box office.

Thursday 10th April – Cardiff Solus
Friday 11th April – Tunbirdge Wells Forum (underage matinee)
Friday 11th April – Tunbrige Wells Forum (18+)
Saturday 12th April – London LSE Afterskoolclub
Sunday 13th April – Norwich Waterfront
Monday 14th April – London Brixton Windmill
Wednesday 16th April – Hereford Jailhouse
Thursday 17th April – Bradford St Georges Hall
Friday 18th April – London Camden Crawl
Saturday 19th April – London Camden Crawl
Sunday 20th April – London Hoxton Bar and Grill