‘Hello Sadness’, the follow-up to 2009’s ‘Romance Is Boring’, is the fourth record by Los Campesinos!. ‘Hello Sadness’ is another step in the evolution of the band after some line-up changes; currently a 7-piece. The album covers everything that is important to Los Campesinos! – love, loss, heartbreak, and football.
“It feels like we’ve done all our growing up while in this band,” says vocalist Gareth Campesinos! “Not like we’re Hanson, or anything. But we’ve been Los Campesinos! since finishing university, and in that time we’ve all changed as people massively. That’s something we want to put across in the music.”
“We’ve learned what there’s room for, sonically,” adds guitarist/songwriter Tom Campesinos! “You start off quite idealistic about what you can actually fit into a song, everything fighting against everything else, and that’s fine, it suited those songs. But now it’s like everything is pulling towards the same goal. The idea was to make the most coherent, direct record we can.”
‘Hello Sadness’ is one of those albums that you want to listen to the whole way through to properly digest what Gareth is telling us with every word. Los Campesinos! have created their own unique sound and deliver their songs in a catchy, yet off-kilter way in the vein of Pavement, Superchunk, and Dinosaur Jr.; this is definitely a good thing. Hello Sadness rides the perfect line between dark and gloomy, and melodic pop creating something truly special.
Track list
1. By Your Hand Songs
2. About Your Girlfriend
3. Hello Sadness
4. Life Is A Long Time
5. Every Defeat A Divorce (Three Lions)
6. Hate For The Island
7. The Black Bird, The Dark Slope
8. To Tundra
9. Baby I Got The Death Rattle
10. Light Leaves, Dark Sees Pt. II
Stand out tracks on the album are the ultra catchy, sing-a-long friendly By Your Hand, the faster paced, lyrically twisted Songs About Your Girlfriend and the darkly beautiful Every Defeat A Divorce (Three Lions). ‘Hello Sadness’ is available through Arts & Crafts on November 15 on CD, Album and digital download.
Watch the video for By Your Hand via YouTube below.
For more information about Los Campesinos!, visit wloscampesinos.com.
They should tour more often to connect with their fans… I had a pair of Campesinos fanatic friends at Uni’ and that was their major complaint! Cannot believe this is their 4th effort already, in four years. Seems melancholic from the title onwards, Songs About Your Girlfriend is fun though 🙂
Hopefully they will get out and tour regularly. I didn’t actually realise they had 3 previous albums until I went to write this post – it is a bit unbelievable. Thanks for commenting. 🙂