Albums

Los Campesinos! - Romance is Boring

Daniel Willis 01/02/2010

Rating: 3.5/5

“You're pouting in your sleep/I'm waking still yawning/We're proving to each other/That romance is boring”

Romance is Boring runs off on a different tack to its precursor, 'We Are Beautiful We Are Doomed'. The pretentions gone; the fun is back. The title track runs off with an Oasis-ripped cocksure guitar and drum intro flowing almost immediately into the sing-a-long chorus of the year. From there the angular guitar returns, the syncopation, the words of disenfranchisement, apathy and inadequacy. The heavy aspect of Tom's lead guitar balanced with Aleksandra's more prominent vocals throughout the verses of the first few songs show a renewed confidence to change the structure of each composition without losing those founding principles the band adhered to, a bitterness which works with the tongue-in-cheek sound rather than limiting it whilst remaining distinctly Los Campesinos!.

There are confused moments, interludes which shoot off in all directions without developing any interesting ideas. It is a relief to hear 'We need more post coital/and less post-rock' kick in with a firework display of a guitar riff and a joyous chorus chant which come together to form 'Straight in at 101'; a song about sexual inexperience which gets you dancing in a way only Los Campesinos! could. Still, there are times when what is being reached for does not come quite so easily.

The end product, on the other hand, is well worth waiting for; sinister lyrics of loneliness, counterbalance of twinkling and stabbing guitar riffs. The album's masterpiece is undoubtedly 'The Sea Is A Good Place To Think Of The Future'. Here, the character creation developed well in the second album allows the exploration of anorexia, death and inferiority in the face of the world against a tidal rhythm section, swaying violin and sinisterly sing-song vocals.

Ultimately, this album is the progression which was necessary, not lacking in the great fun the band obviously have in creating their music but also offering them greater opportunity to explore all the dark things they want to deal with. It is a success in places and not in others but the essence which runs throughout is of a band with more maturity than their years with a lot more to offer.


Top Tracks

1. The Sea Is a Good Place To Think of The Future
2. Romance is Boring
3. There Are Listed Buildings

Release date: 01/02/2010