ALBUM REVIEW: Los Campesinos!
- Posted on September 1, 2008 5:22 PM
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Los Campesinos!
We Are Beautiful, We Are Doomed
Review by Joan Losa
There is an important declaration that defines the new Los Campesinos! album on their website: “It's no B-Sides and rarities or "songs that weren't good enough to be on the album cobbled together with some remixes and field recordings of Cardiff's indie scene"; it's ten all-new tracks that none of you have ever heard before”.
Having said this, there is no choice but to surrender to reality and admit that we are facing a band prolific like few others, with no shortage of energy and, in some ways also, of naivety. However, it is fair to admit that in terms of lyrics this album could suppose one step further, maintaining the sweetness and freshness that mark them now instead of introducing a certain caustic touch in their speech.
In what is strictly musical, the move seems to have gone well. `We Are Beautiful, We Are Doomed` was produced by John Goodmanson (Blonde Redhead, Sleater-Kinney, Bikini Kill, Wedding Present, Wu Tang), who has managed to boost the dynamism and spontaneity of the band, subtracting some amateurism from their sound but without turning it something over produced.
We can say that Los Campesinos! have been able to refine their particular formula without falling in to repetition, but rather sometimes self-parody, creating ten new songs, maybe less instantly accessible than their previous album “Hold on Now, Youngster”, but maintaining the urgency of bands such as Huggy Bear or Comet Gain with the Pavement’s chaotic rhythm.
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