Search - Los Campesinos :: Romance Is Boring

Los Campesinos
Romance Is Boring
Genres: Pop, Rock

Track Listings (15) - Disc #1
1. In Medias Res
2. There Are Listed Buildings
3. Romance Is Boring
4. We've Got Your Back(Documented Emotional Breakdown #2)
5. Plan A
6. 2 - 12
7. Straight In At 11
8. Who Fell Asleep
9. I Warned You: Do Not Make An Enemy Of Me
10. Heart Swells / 1-1
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

CD Details

All Artists: Los Campesinos
Title: Romance Is Boring
Members Wishing: 3
Total Copies: 0
Label: Arts & Crafts
Original Release Date: 1/1/2010
Re-Release Date: 1/26/2010
Genres: Pop, Rock
Style:
Number of Discs: 1
SwapaCD Credits: 1
UPC: 827590500020

Synopsis

Album Description

If you come to Romance Is Boring with too many preconceptions about Los Campesinos!, please leave them at the door: this album may not be what you expect. Last year's mini-album We Are Beautiful, We Are Doomed debuted a firmer, harder sound, the giddy sugar rush of "You! Me! Dancing!" metabolized into nervous adrenaline and lyrics spiked with jealousy, angst and paranoia. But Romance Is Boring feels like a band that's - well, not so much grown up - let's say "fully realized." Recorded in two legs - at Carriage House, Connecticut where the Pixies produced and mixed Doolittle, and the then at Jason McGurr of Death Cab For Cutie's new studio in Seattle- it's a record that's bigger, deeper, more complex and more direct than anything Los Campesinos! has recorded to date. There are huge choruses ("There Are Listed Buildings") and squalling, Blood Brothers dissonance ("Plan A"), sheets of twinkling electronic ambience ("Coda: A Burn Scar In The Shape Of The Sooner State") and more great lyrics than you could ever hope to pin down in a press release. Ask yourself this: how many indie bands make a second record that's better than their first, and then make a third record that's better than their second, all in little over 18 months? Think about that one for a bit. Romance Is Boring is filled out with added brass, strings, drum machines and electronics, packed with guest spots from the likes of Jamie Stewart of Xiu Xiu, Zac Pennington of Parenthetical Girls and Jherek Bischoff of the Dead Science, it is nothing if not ambitious.

CD Reviews

Los Campesinos! - Romance is Boring

Andrew Vice | Plano, TX | 01/26/2010

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Talking pure numbers, Los Campesinos! have released three killer records within the span of two years, a feat which is only getting more and more uncommon. You can't fault indie rock classics like Built to Spill for taking their time between albums, especially when their long-term output has been so incredible, but there is something refreshing about a band that writes an album, goes on tour, and then goes straight back to the studio to give the fans more. Romance is Boring is the band's third major release (though technically it's considered their sophomore album), and the band is certainly only getting better with age. Romance is tight, confident, and energetic, and it feels like a perfect balance between the styles of their debut and the extended EP follow-up. It packs both their most aggressive songs to date as well as their slowest, darkest musings. "We've Got Your Back" is my favorite track off the record, and it encapsulates everything I love about the band. It's fun, energetic, and bitingly clever. If you're a fan of the band, there should be no doubt in your mind: get this album. If you want to give the band a try, I'd say this is probably the place to start for a new listener. Cheers and happy listening!"

A terrifice work of art

Skyler Loomis | Howell, MI | 02/06/2010

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I don't mean to sound pretension when I say that this album is a work of art. It is beautiful in so many ways. This is the type of album someone can listen to and just have a big silly grin on their face because of how great the music is and how great it makes them feel. Romance is Boring is Los Campesinos! 2nd or 3rd album (depending on who you ask) and I feel it is completely safe to say it is there best.

From the very first song you can hear how much they have grown as a band and as individuals. The songs hold so much emotional resonance that it hurts to listen at times, but even at it's darkest I cannot help but feel uplifted. If not simply because of the beautiful music, but because despite the thesis of the album, that romance is boring, it's painfully obvious that the pain of love lost is exhilarating.

If you have never heard of Los Campesinos! this really is a great place to start. The music is more accesible than ever, it feels less cluttered and like every note is exactly where it needs to be. This album will undoubtably prove to be one of the best the year, and I cannot personally think of a better way to start the new decade."