Music Critic Francesca Seabrook gives an introduction to British emo-indie band Los Campesinos!
Trigger Warnings: Eating Disorder
Despite forming in 2006, 2024 marks the biggest year yet for Los Campesinos!, with the release of their seventh album All Hell re-establishing their reputation as lyrical geniuses. After recently finishing their Mortal Joy tour, the band plans to celebrate their 18-year career through 2 nights at Troxy in London over Valentine’s Day. This will be perfect for new and old fans alike, bringing their new release to life and promising to play some old rarities. It is the perfect time to become a fan, or what the band calls a weeping dipsh*t.
Self-described as the UK’s first and only emo band, the seven-piece ensemble blend the cynical lyricism emo is known for, with the sound of indie rock and indie pop all at once. Each new album serves as a love letter to the last, with every track bringing up a range of recurring themes from mental health and heartbreak, to political hypocrisy and football. Their unique ability to capture feelings hard to label, and admit uncomfortable truths most are scared to admit makes them a band you should not want to miss out on.
For an easy introduction to a band with over 100 songs in their discography, I will pick apart four songs which epitomise who they are as a band and what they aim to do.
Each new album serves as a love letter to the last, with every track bringing up a range of recurring themes
‘You! Me! Dancing!’
From their debut album, Hold on Now, Youngster…, ‘You! Me! Dancing!’ is their most popular song, and for good reason. It is the overthinker’s club anthem, spending 6 minutes and 45 seconds illustrating the frontman Gareth Paisey’s worries over others judging him in a club. The accompanying sound is perfectly twee-pop, with an addicting guitar riff and addition of violin and keyboards contributing to the overt dance beat. The constant repeated worry that ‘I can’t dance a single step’ is overcome by the realisation that it does not matter what others think as long as you are happy, making the listener feel like they have shared in that recognition. The song ends in a stream of consciousness style speech from Paisey as the chorus continues, showing an air of defiance the band usually possesses as he refuses to overthink and says exactly what he is thinking.
‘The Sea Is a Good Place to Think of the Future’
A fan favourite and legendary emo anthem, ‘The Sea Is a Good Place to Think of the Future’ offers listeners the perspective of watching someone you love struggle with their mental health. It captures the immense pain of the narrator watching their girlfriend struggle with an eating disorder and the helplessness he feels at not being able to change the situation. It explores the difference between how the narrator views her compared to how she views herself, and the seeming inescapability of her illness, described as ‘Five-hundred years dead set ahead of me’. The song encapsulates the darker, grungier sound that is found in the whole of their third album Romance Is Boring, with low pitched instruments and shouted bridges.
‘As Lucerne/The Low’
Despite being a deep cut, taking its place as the sixth track on their fifth, and my personal favourite, album No Blues, ‘As Lucerne/The Low’ is an essential for any Los Campesinos! listener. The song expertly tackles the idea of competitive sadness; the uncomfortable truth that many of us only feel justified in our negative feelings if we convince ourselves we have it the worst in the world. The song opens announcing ‘There is no blues that can sound quite as heartfelt as mine’, and continues this sense of pride around being the most depressed as the narrator doesn’t want to find a way out. The choppy use of samples and synth added on top of the band’s usual reliance on guitar and drums provides a unique sound, creating an atmosphere of uncertainty which only adds to the message the lyrics aim to convey.
‘Renato Dall’ara (2008)’
If I were to pick one song representative of everything Los Campesinos! is about, it would be ‘Renato Dall’ara’. The opening track of their sixth album Sick Scenes, the song provides an up-tempo rock beat to explore the band’s history with a lens of pessimism. The titular reference to Renato Dall’ara, an Italian football stadium, likens the England football team’s triumphs and losses there to the band’s own highs and lows; with ‘(2008)’ referencing the band’s height of popularity. They successfully explore their distaste for the music industry to the soundtrack of tambourines in a catchy chorus, whilst simultaneously keeping the Los Campesinos! tradition of discussing caricatures of people we all know.
If I were to pick one song representative of everything Los Campesinos! is about, it would be ‘Renato Dall’ara’
Concluding Thoughts:
With Los Campesinos!, there will always be something new to discover on their songs, whether that be a lyric you have newly understood, or realising their use of unconventional instruments such as a glockenspiel. Their popularity is guaranteed to sky rocket, so why not become a fan now?
Additional tracks worth exploring:
‘Straight in at 101’, ‘5 Flucloxacillin’, ‘Here’s to the Fourth Time!’, ‘Avocado, Baby’, ‘0898 HEARTACHE’
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