Los Campesinos- Finding the Perfect Balance Between Pretension and Pop
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Los Campesinos
Sticking Fingers into Sockets
Arts and Crafts
MP3
Los Campesinos! is a seven piece Welsh band that recently saw it’s debut EP “Sticking Fingers Into Sockets” get distribution in the US and Canada through Canadian label Arts and Crafts. It’s a wonderful EP, and my only real quibble is that at 15 minutes the EP stops right as you really start to get into it.
Per Wikipedia, the band formed in 2006 and began playing in clubs around Cardiff, generating buzz by their impressive live shows. They added to the original 3 piece band with a myriad of instruments including a glockenspiel and violins. They released their initial single through myspace and a local Welsh recording label, which was enough to get them a slot opening for Broken Social Scene, which helped them get the distribution through Arts and Crafts and lent them their producer.
The songs are for the most part upbeat and danceable (if that’s your sort of thing). “Frontwards” is a pretty straightforward indie rock song, but the others definitely draw more from pop than rock. The article title is the opening line from “It All Started With A Mixx” and I think best illustrates the EP, a near perfect balance between pretension and pop. It’s poppy enough to be generally likable by just about everyone but has enough meat to pull in all but the most snobbish music listeners.
One of the things I enjoy most about the EP is Aleksandra’s voice. It’s a nice compliment to lead, um, singer Gareth’s rappish delivery. His delivery mostly works but there are times that it’s nice to hear singing and Aleksandra has a terrific voice (all members are credited by first name and Campesino! on Wikipedia). I don’t think either would be a good full time singer for an album of this type, but by combining their voices it does seem to work.
The videos for “We Throw Parties, You Throw Knives” and “You! Me! Dancing!” (easily my favorite track on the EP) are available on YouTube and are early 80s-type animation. if you want to check out the songs before purchasing them.
If you prefer your indie music brooding and introspective, Los Campesinos! are not for you. However, if you prefer it upbeat and a little more irrelevant, go out and buy the EP right now. As for me, I’ll patiently wait for the rumored debut album next year and hope for some stateside dates.