Los Campesinos!
Romance is Boring
Rating: 2.5/5.0
Label: Wichita
Sometimes I think that every young man growing up in the U.K. hopes to lead either the Smiths or the Buzzcocks. Los Campesinos! singer/songwriter Garreth Campesinos! has done a great job proving this right and wrong, always wanting to do both at the same time. But lately it appears that he wants more Morrissey and Marr in his life. Near the end of Romance is Boring, the whole band screams "Can we all please just calm the fuck down!" By the time that cry kicks off "There is A Flag, There Is No Wind," the band has done all it can to own that statement. Much of the cultural hyper-awareness that played into the Cardiff ensemble's ascent is toned down on their third LP, in favor of tried and true storytelling. The boy-meets-girl tale of twee indie melodies with brash and curt British punk, which encompassed their charm in 2008, was cutting romantic comedy. That energy could not be repeated without dulling the satirical blade on the etiquette and posturing of both scenes. Putting the fourth wall back up to show that they can construct a sustained narrative is a sign of refreshing maturity that I genuinely admire. But that's the problem - it's only a precursor for something different. They still haven't steered through clouds of darkly romantic music without succumbing to placid bleakness.
Gareth has always found the sweet spot of insecure farce and cocooned it in a wall of early '90s-sounding guitars, with violins and xylophones. He's kept the same instrumentation, yet focused his gaze to concentrate on creating a greater sense of atmosphere, not physical action. "Those Are Listed Buildings" splays his introspection that "We are but two atheists in lust/ You know we gotta make our own love," while the action unfolds among a community of revered architectural wonders. The same insecure cynicism determinedly factors in "Romance is Boring," as a ripped-heart-in-hand, foot-stomping monologue.
But I'm not sure the group has utilized this newfound, overt sincerity in quite the way they had pictured. The first Los Campesinos! LP, Hold on Youngster, was more poignant, because it allowed us to smile and laugh, making its comedowns more devastating. Its danceable beats and cheeky humor could easily downshift to reflect mundane angers like the revulsion of a lover's coffee-flavored kisses. Instead, a band which still possesses a healthy level of wicked defiance isn't sure what to do with it when the time comes to try and choke back tears. That insecurity can't help but rear its head at the crucial moment when a song reaches for the knockout blow but barely grazes its target. The mostly spoken outro of "Straight in at 101" trails off, instead of plainly stating the facts of the narrator's misery. On its heels, the black, downbeat "Who Fell Asleep," in addition to the foam-green torture found in "The Sea is a Good Place to Think of the Future," try to wallow in the affection of a morosely radiant girl on the brink of oblivion. When they're devoid of exhilaration, this isn't a great band to push through the slow bleed of relationship angst. Structurally, there are too many light and humorous instruments to pull off that kind of content. It's like watching a comedian's dramatic turn when an actor puts on the sad clown face for two hours.
Romance is Boring did reaffirm my fondness for Los Campesinos! in the bits and pieces I enjoyed. Fundamentally, this is still the band that thrilled me when I saw them on their first tour of the U.S. But it's also one that believes that to take a more serious approach they must be bleak and unrelenting. A conclusion that is especially odd from the same performers who once recognized that dangling something sweet in front of drama gives it that extra bit of longing.
by Neal Fersko
