INCOMING: Los Campesinos! - All's Well That Ends EP

LC! are surely the most featured band on Hitsville U.K., but not without good reason. Last week the band posted an mp3 of the ‘Princess Version’ of the title track of their most recent album "Romance Is Boring". It has just been announced that the track makes up part of a new ‘reworkings’ EP titled "All’s Well That Ends". The EP is made up of four alternate versions of tracks from "Romance Is Boring". The tracklisting is as follows:

1. Romance Is Boring (Princess Version)

2. Letters From Me To Charlotte (RSVP)

3. Straight In At 101/It’s Never Enough

4. (All’s Well That Ends) In Medias Res

Ellen, the band's bassist, filmed the recordings of the EP.

Untitled from Los Campesinos! on Vimeo.

The EP will first be available to buy at Los Campesinos! Wichiten show at London’s Garage on Thursday 15th July, and will then be available in limited number from independent record shops from July 19th.
You can pre-order the 10″ EP from Wichita, here: http://www.wichita-recordings.com/shop/webb258t.html

Even more Los Campesinos! for your delectation

In honour of "Romance Is Boring", Hitsville U.K.'s highest rated album of the year so far (beating Gorillaz' "Plastic Beach"), here's a handful of LC! videos, including one of the first two songs of their Liverpool gig in February (which I went to and requested those songs *proud fanboy moment...even though my requesting them probably had nothing to do with them being played.... * I'll shut up now and let you watch the videos)

Los Campesinos! - Romance Is Boring

I’m never going to do a Los Campesinos! album review on time am I? It took me two months to review “We Are Beautiful, We Are Doomed” and it’s taken me nearly the same amount for “Romance Is Boring”. Arguments on whether this is LC!’s second or third album will wage between indie kids for eternity (the band consider “WAB,WAD” as an extended EP, not a full album); I’m firmly on the ‘third album’ side if I’m being honest, but I digress.

In the two and a bit years since their debut album, Los Campesinos! have matured into one of the best indie bands around (that’s indie as in independent in sound and ethos, not indie as in The fucking Pigeon Detectives). The twee shackles which plagued them early on have been thrown off and whilst the hyperactive pop playfulness still remains, like a chihuahua in a Kenickie t-shirt, it’s now more streamlined and beefed –up, sounding less disposable and more life-affirming. The bouncy indie pop of old remains for the first half a dozen tracks or so, the title track being the best example of LC!’s evolution. Undeniably more rock than earlier tracks, it contains a chorus catchier than any flu the media choose to chuck on the front page (“You’re pouting in your sleep, I’m waking, still yawning/We’re proving to each other that romance is boring”). Lyrically, the album is superb. Gareth Campesinos! is one of the best lyricists the country has to offer right now, and there are few who can match him for laugh-out-loud moments e.g. “I think we need more post-coital and less post-rock/Feels like the build-up takes forever but you never touch my cock” on “Straight In At 101”, as well as “Plan A”, probably the only song ever about being called up to the Maltese national football team.


Of course, as any LC! fan knows, it’s not all fun and indie-pop frolics, neither musically nor lyrically. Both “In Medias Res” and the aforementioned “Straight In At 101” offer up some pretty depressing imagery (“I phone my friends and family to gather round the television; The talking heads count down the most heart-wrenching break ups of all time/Imagine the great sense of waste, the indignity, the embarrassment when not a single one of that whole century was... mine”). To describe every little nuance and bit of lyrical genius on the album would take quite some time, and would probably be fairly boring. But I will say this; to experience “Romance Is Boring” fully, reading the lyric book along with listening to it is advised (that is if you actually go out and buy it...physically...remember that?).

I’ve gone all this way and not even mentioned “The Sea Is A Good Place To Think Of The Future”, the album’s highlight of highlights and 5th best song of last year, according to me. Foreboding guitar picking and a lone, mournful violin that begin the track belie the explosion of a chorus that arrives, taking any listener on an aural rollercoaster. If you don’t at least “kind of like” Los Campesinos! after this album then, at the risk of sounding like a rabid fanboy, we can’t even know each other*
*Kidding, of course. I just think this a superb album is all.

SOUNDS LIKE: All of your teenage angst, but more intelligent, witty, deep and catchy. And nothing at all like whiny bitchy emo.
ESSENTIAL: All of it. Seriously.
9.5/10

2009: Songs of the Year - Number 5

You know what? Balls to this, Blogger won't let me post what I've written for this for some reason, so here's basically what I've been trying to say

I LOVE LOS CAMPESINOS! THIS SONG IS AMAZING! IT'S A FREE DOWNLOAD! YOU KNOW WHAT TO DO!

2009: Songs of the Year - #50 to #11

ALBUM NEWS: Los Campesinos - Romance Is Boring

Los Campesinos! have announced the details of their forthcoming second/third album (I can't be bothered explainin). Named "Romance Is Boring", it's out on February 1st 2010. Cannot wait.

The tracklisting is as follows:

1. In Medias Res
2. There Are Listed Buildings
3. Romance Is Boring
4. We’ve Got Your Back (Documented Minor Emotional Breakdown #2)
5. Plan A
6. 200-102
7. Straight In At 101
8. Who Fell Asleep In
9. I Warned You: Do Not Make An Enemy Of Me
10. Heart Swells/100-1
11. I Just Sighed. I Just Sighed, Just So You Know
12. A Heat Rash In The Shape Of The Show Me State; or, Letters From Me To Charlotte
13. The Sea Is A Good Place To Think Of The Future
14. This Is A Flag. There Is No Wind
15. Coda: A Burn Scar In The Shape Of The Sooner State

Taken from LC!'s blog:
"The album was recorded and mixed between March and June of 2009, in Seattle, Connecticut and Monmouthsire, with producer John Goodmanson. It features guest appearances from Jamie Stewart, Zac Pennington and Jherek Bischoff.

It is 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."

Once again, I cannot wait for this. Early contender for Album of 2010, and I've only heard two tracks so far.

Los Campesinos! - There Are Listed Buildings + The Sea...

The best band you probably haven't heard of return with two previews of their latest album (second or third, depending on whether you think an Extended EP of 10 tracks counts as an album). Los Campesinos! have always been what I personally want in a band; the ability to make shouty, loud, throw-yourself-around indie and rather twee 'n' tender alt.pop with at least one heart-brakingly great lyric in every song. This winning streak continues in "There Are Listed Buildings" and "The Sea Is A Good Place To Think Of The Future" which are on the as-yet-untitled new album.

"TALB" is probably LC!'s most radio-friendly track in a while, not too twee as to be straight, sugary, saccharine pop but not too spiky and indie to drive casual listeners back to their Snow Patrol. Reminiscent of the material on debut "Hold On Now, Youngster", the "ba-ba"s and humming that surround the choruses make this an obvious future sing-along classic (well to us awkward indie kids anyway), and the brass section (brass!!) is a rather welcome augmentation of the LC! sound
There Are Listed Buildings by loscampesinos
8.5


"The Sea..." on the other hand, is a much different beast to the aforementioned first single. The brooding, mournful guitar and violin combo of the intro is very similar to "We Are Beautiful, We Are Doomed" highlight "Heart Swells/Pacific Daylight Time" until it explodes into an epic maelstrom, which edges towards My Bloody Valentine, musically at least. Lyrically, there are more great lines here than most bands can manage in a career. For example; "you could never kiss a Tory boy without wanting to cut off your tongue again", " I grabbed hold of her wrist and my hand closed from tip to tip/ I said “you’ve taken the diet too far, you have got to let it slip”", " ask her to speak French and then I need her to translate, I get the feeling she makes the meaning more significant" and "She was always far too pretty for me to believe in a single word she said, believe a word she said". Let's see Hard-Fi top that. In short, this is the best thing LC! have done so far and makes me unbelievably excited for the album. And what's more it's free to download from their blog, so go do that and then buy the album when it's released.
10

The Hitsville UK Alternative Mercury Prize! Results!

Yes, I'm fairly late in posting this and yes, hardly anyone voted but I have a duty as a music blogger/nerd to do this sort of thing. And just so there are no complaints (not that there ever are), only British albums released in the last 12 months that weren't nominated for the actual Mercury could qualify. So here are the results of The Hitsville UK Alternative Mercury Prize or The Thermometer Award (Thermometer, mercury...geddit?)



VV Brown - Travelling Like The Light - 3/30%
Los Campesinos! - We Are Beautiful, We Are Doomed - 3 votes/30%
Franz Ferdinand - Tonight: Franz Ferdinand - 2 votes/20%
The Maccabees - Wall Of Arms - 2 votes/20%
Metronomy - Nights Out - 2 votes/20%
We Were Promised Jetpacks - 2 votes/20%
Grammatics - Grammatics - 1 vote/10%
Jack Penate - Everything Is New - 1 vote/10%
Manic Street Preachers - Journal For Plague Lovers - 1 vote/10%
It Hugs Back - Inside Your Guitar - 0 votes
Late Of The Pier - Fantasy Black Channel - 0 votes
Sky Larkin - The Golden Spike - 0 votes

So congrats to both LC! and VV Brown on being joint winners. A well deserved victory for both, if fairly suprising (my money was on The Maccabees). "Travelling Like The Light" is a superb album, fusing parts of 50s/60s rock 'n' roll with soul and modern pop. If I was going to be lazy, I'd say she was the alternative to the hype storm of La Roux, Little Boots and Florence...alright, she basically is. It does have something for pretty much everyone, except death metal fans and that awful breed of human that drives around at 100mph at night listening to awful dance. Ok, "Crying Blood" is essentially a reworking of "The Monster Mash", but it doesn't stop it, or the album from being any less awesome.

LC! on the other hand, are a somewhat more acquired taste. But if you persevere with "We Are Beautiful, We Are Doomed", you're in for a treat. The band are probably most known for their painfully accurate lyrics ("As if I walked into the room to see my ex-girlfriend/Who by the way, I'm still in love with/Sucking the face of some pretty boy with my favourite band's most popular song in the background/Is it wrong that I can't decide which bothers me most?" is one that is now ingrained in my mind, and what indie guy hasn't felt like that?), that sum up angst in a way not seen since Morrissey. "WAB,WAD" is a massive step forward from their debut "Hold On Now, Youngster" both musically and lyrically, fully embracing the range of LC!'s influences (from the alt.pop of Kenickie and Bis to the punk rock of Fucked Up and Black Flag, as well as the noise of No Age and Xiu Xiu). Judging by the new track "The Sea Is A Good Place To Think Of The Future", things can only get better.

HITSVILLE U.K'S ALTERNATIVE MERCURY
>>>Everybody's doing them...>>>

Since the real Mercury nominees were announced, pretty much every music site has been giving their verdicts on the choices and thusly compiling their own lists. May as well join in with the fun. Sticking with the planetary theme of the Mercury, I think I'll call it the "Pluto Award" for now, unless I think of a better, cooler name...

FRANZ FERDINAND - Tonight: Franz Ferdinand [>>>REVIEW] [>>>EXAMPLE]
GRAMMATICS - Grammatics [>>>REVIEW] [>>>EXAMPLE]
IT HUGS BACK - Inside Your Guitar [>>>REVIEW] [>>>EXAMPLE]
JACK PENATE - Everything Is New [>>>REVIEW] [>>>EXAMPLE]
LATE OF THE PIER - Fantasy Black Channel [>>>EXAMPLE]
LOS CAMPESINOS! - We Are Beautiful, We Are Doomed [>>>REVIEW] [>>>EXAMPLE]
THE MACCABEES - Wall Of Arms [>>>REVIEW] [>>>EXAMPLE]
MANIC STREET PREACHERS - Journal For Plague Lovers [>>>REVIEW] [>>>EXAMPLE]
METRONOMY - Nights Out [>>>REVIEW] [>>>EXAMPLE]
SKY LARKIN - The Golden Spike [>>>EXAMPLE]
VV BROWN - Travelling Like The Light [>>>EXAMPLE]
WE WERE PROMISED JETPACKS - These Four Walls [>>>EXAMPLE]

The poll is right there in the side bar, vote for however many you want. Have a listen to the examples first before voting, always helps. Also, apologies for the 18 days without posting, it's been a little hectic in 'personal life' world.

Los Campesinos! - We Are Beautiful, We Are Doomed

Los Camp!. The second most punk rock band in Britain. The indiest band in Britain. More indie than The Smiths, more indie than The Cribs, more indie than the entire teenage population of Hoxton at an NME party watching Foals playing a cover of the Skins theme tune.. They're so indie that this isn't even an LP. According to them, it's an Extended EP. I think you get the point. Released only 8 months after their debut "Hold On Now, Youngster...", "WAB,WAD" represents a band maturing, growing yet still retaining what made them so special in the first place.

LC! specialise in the kind of wordy, studenty racket that typical Enemy/Oasis fans would hate. Their songs won't be shouted from terraces, sung badly on the way home from Yates's, and noone will be shaking anything to them at any 18ths. But just because LC! aren't in-yr-face mainstream doesn't mean they should be cast aside as a "weird indie band". In their own words, "we're undeveloped, we're ignorant, we're stupid, but we're happy."

Opening with "Ways To Make It Through The Wall", a swirling piece of electro bleeps, chugging guitars and self-loathing lyrics. Lines like "I identify my star sign by asking which is least compatible with yours" and "I think you've got it in for us/I think you've got it in for yourselves" gives the impression we have a second Morrissey on our hands. Gareth Campesinos! doesn't really cheer up much throughout the rest of the album (must have been a pretty bad 8 months since "HON,Y...") as you can see from song titles such as "Miserabilia". LC! seem intent on summing up the wasteland between teenagedom and adulthood in this album. How else can you describe a verse like this: "As if I walked into the room to see my ex-girlfriend/Who by the way, I'm still in love with/Sucking the face of some pretty boy with my favourite band's most popular song in the background/Is it wrong that I can't decide which bothers me most?"

It's not just the band's lyrics which are superb, the musicmanship has improved greatly from the debut. Where it once had to be everything playing at once in a joyous, overexcited racket, is now restrained or wild when it needs to be. The glockenspiels, keyboards and violins augment the typical guitar-bass-drums set up for the better and let the hardcore punk influence shine through without losing their twee edge or dampening the effect of the lyrics.

"We Are Beautiful, We Are Doomed" could turn out to be a significant album for Los Campesinos!. With it's release method (only 5000 copies, free fanzine, DVD, poster and buttons, as well as no singles), it could see them go further into elite indie-ness, shunning the mainstream completely. Or they could possibly become, with an ever-growing fanbase and almost universal acclaim for the album, everyone's favourite outsiders, the underdogs of the 21st century indie scene. For now, they remain a wonderful secret for those who know of them.

9/10 (slightly late review...by 2 months)

MMVIII: albums

We're approaching December, the end of a rather enjoyable year in terms of music (not so much when talking about the economy). Since there aren't any major, major albums being released from now until 2009 (well apart from Fall Out Boy's Foile A Deux, but the less said about that, the better) I thought I'd give a review of the past 331 days, starting with albums....

BEST :
Glasvegas - Glasvegas
NME called them "Britain's best loved band". That may not strictly be true (as I can't find anyone who wants to go to see them in 2 weeks), they have the potential to become an classic band. An intriguing mixture of The Clash, The Jesus And Mary Chain and Oasis, the band tell stories of life on the streets of Glasgow, from absent fathers to knife crime, all under shimmering guitars, rumbling bass and thundering drums. "A furious Wall of Sound" in their own words, and one that's here to stay.

The Hold Steady - Stay Positive
A hefty dollop of prime American rock, following on from their breakthrough third album Boys And Girls In America. Craig Finn's distinctive Boston drawl and clever lyrics drives the songs across Stay Positive. Fans of the band will know what to expect musically; crunchy riffs, Slash-like solos, E Street-channeling piano. but a few curveballs are thrown every now and again, showing the progression of the band since their debut, and where they're headed. A harpsichord on "One For The Cutters", an amazing talkbox solo during "Joke About Jamaica" and the Zeppelin-like "Both Crosses". It's an album packed with future classics from a band destined for stadiums and headline slots, but the best is save for last on "Slapped Actress". The pièce de résistance and closing track, it sums up everything great about The Hold Steady; clever, catchy rock anthems. And who could say no to that?

Bloc Party - Intimacy
The Bloc should be commended for this album, and not just for it's content. Released online a few months before physically going on sale, it was a brave move for the band, this being only their third album. But the move has paid off as the album was acclaimed by both fans and critics alike (although some might disagree) for the new dancefloor-centric direction of the album. There was much grumbling from fanboys over lead single "Mercury", despite it not even being one of the best tracks on the album, but still a piece of genius in my opinion. "Intimacy" swings from Klaxon-aping choons such as "Ares", to heartfelt dance-balladry in "Signs" (did I just create a genre? I think I'm turning into NME) and finally, to a perfect distillation of every element of Bloc Party, "Talons". The jittery post-post-punk guitar, intricate and danceable beat and Kele's angsty howl (which is a good thing).

Los Campesinos! - Hold On Now, Youngster...
The jerky indie-punk continues with the debut from the Cardiff seven piece (although none of them actually come from Cardiff). Drawing their inspiration from hardcore punk bands such as Black Flag to classic indie bands like Pavement and The Fiery Furnaces, they make an absolutely wonderful racket. Not something you'll ever find on Radio 1, but they don't seem to care. They revel in obscurity and going against the norm (they've released their second album just last month, although it doesn't match up to this). They could be classified as typically studenty, but they're far too good for that tag.

Friendly Fires - Friendly Fires
Imagine a band who's primary influences are dance music, "lush shoegaze melodies" and classic pop. That's Friendly Fires. All the euphoria of a late 80's rave with carnival spirit and massive pop hooks, from 3 guys from St. Albans. I guess in a sentence the album is a anthemic cowbell-heavy party record for anytime of the year. Latest single "Paris" is definitely a contender for song of the year, if the past 8 years .

Bon Iver - For Emma, Forever Ago
After the breakup of his band, his relationship and a bout with illness, Justin Vernon left his home and moved into his father's cabin in the woods of northern Wisconsin. Not intending to write any music at all during that time, he came out with this beautiful album. Only 9 tracks long but full of haunting vocals and sparse acoustic guitar, it's destined to become a classic album. Highlights include "Skinny Love" and the sublime "Re: Stacks", which may sound like it should be on the soundtrack to House or something...mainly because it has been. But don't let that deter you from "For Emma, Forever Ago". It may not be zeitgeist-straddling indie rock or the soundtrack to your next rave, but it's just as good as any of the bands that fit into those categories.

Dan Le Sac vs Scroobius Pip - Angles
Looking at the two of them, you wouldn't think that they're one of the best hip-hop groups in Britain, but trust me they are. Le Sac and Pip first came to people's attention with their underground hit "Thou Shalt Always Kill" late last year (don't worry Daily Mail readers, that doesn't mean the country's teenagers are going to go on a kill crazy rampage, "kill" means do your best on stage), a satirical attack on 21st Century Britain that sometimes contradicts but never bores. Slaying the legends of music ("The Beatles: just a band...The Clash: just a band"), it proves that Le Sac & Pip are planning on staying for a while and the rest of the album will help them to do just that. They're a hip-hop act with some soul; a rare thing these days, as shown on the title track and various others. Their fingers are on the pulse of modern day Britain, and coupled with a keen wit and some ingenious beats/sampling, they've created something different and even more brilliant for it

Foals - Antidotes
Ahhh one of the biggest hype bands of 2008 definitely came up with the goods, but they differed to people's expectations. Drafting in producer du jour Dave Sitek may have been a step in the wrong direction, seeing as his mix apparently was too reverb-y and sounded like it had been "recorded in the Grand Canyon". But what eventually ended up on the record is a totally different beast to the demos and earlier singles. Of course there's still dancefloor hits in the likes of "Cassius" and "Balloons" but the rest of the tracks have a Radiohead-ish feel too them. Intricate beats and guitar work intertwining with obscure, opaque lyrics ("the lighthouse is an accident" anyone?). Another unexpected addition to the band's canon was a brass section. Trumpets and saxophones augment quite a few early tracks without changing Foals' blueprint for "ballet with beats" and add something different to them; something to keep them apart from the math-rock/indie chasing pack

Elbow - The Seldom Seen Kid
Not just here because of their Mercury triumph (although that was what got me to listen to their album the whole way through and actually listen), Elbow have achieved overnight success after 18 years of hard work. And you can't say they don't deserve it. Just based on this album alone, they should be headlining festivals left right and centre, such is the anthemic, hug-yer-mates-but-in-a-manly-way quality of the songs on the album. Guy Garvey's lyrics border on classic throughout, especially on "One Day Like This", Elbow's "first big hit". "The Seldom Seen Kid" almost borders on epic, such is the arrangement of many of the songs; luscious strings, pounding drums and a bonafide anthem in "Grounds For Divorce". Elbow look set to grow and grow in stature in the future

Vampire Weekend - Vampire Weekend
The final of the big three hype bands this year. The preppy purveyors of Afrobeat-inflected college indie were pretty much the suprise package in terms of albums. They had little hype before "Vampire Weekend" was released, and only then did it pass by word of mouth across this here blogosphere (that's such an oxymoron, I know). Coming out in January, it didn't seem too likely that it would last the distance, but the quailty of the record made sure it did. Which other record in the past...well...50 years of rock 'n' roll references the Falklands War and modern architecture in the first track? Exactly, none (that I know of). The album is packed to the brim with the ultimate summer songs; both laid-back and bouncy. One of which is pretty much a defining song of the year: A-Punk. It may haunt the band for years to come, but I doubt they'll care. Most people may not have a clue what Erza Koenig is singing about, but they're damned if they care. It's too joyous of a song really. I could waffle on about every song on the album, but I'd bore you so I'll leave it at that.

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WORST :
Hadouken! - Music For An Accelrated Culture
Only if your culture is as accelerated as the school bus for Ronald House at a red light, really. Basically H! are a bunch of wannabee LDN scene kids, who think that rapping about house parties, getting wasted and basically what they see in the capital. Which obviously isn't too inspiring to them. Hell, even Razorlight's thrid album was better than this mush. Without James Smith rambling his way over the top, the band do have some good riffs and songs in them, but it's just their need to be "down wid da kidz" that ruins them. Namechecking such 21st Century innovations as the iTunes library, MySpace profile songs, MSN Messenger, Trojan viruses, and ringtones will jsut date them even quicker than expected. I can only hop the credit crunch gets to them sooner rather than later.
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LET DOWNS :
A lot of albums were hyped up beyond belief this year, with only a few weathering the media storm. One band who didn't make it were Kings Of Leon, the one time ramshackles "Southern Strokes". On thrid album "Because Of The Times", they changed their image to a slick arena rock band and it definitely worked for them. But this years fourth effort "Only By The Night" may change the band forever. The songs are more streamlined, the writing less interesting and their image is that of a rough boy band really. The album continues their "half good, half bad" formula, and basically, they're writing songs for U2 now. It may have won them a Number One and a lot of new "different" fans, but it's lost them a hell of a lot of old ones. Another over-hyped album from the last 12 months is "Off With Their Heads" by Kaiser Chiefs. You'd think with their Elland Road homecoming gigs, McCartney support slot and the help of Mark Ronson, they'd have come up with something more that "What do you want for tea/I want crisps!". Undoubtedly they'll continue to get bigger by the album, but once again the songs may suffer as a result.


Reviews of: 2008's best songs, best bands and tips for next year coming soon!
xxx