Romance Is Boring

''Romance Is Boring'' is the third studio album by indie pop band Los Campesinos!. Their third album in 24 months, it was released on 26 January 2010 via Wichita and Arts & Crafts. It was recorded throughout the United States in 2009 and produced by John Goodmanson, with the album's maximalist sound, unconventional structure and expansion in their instrumental palette receiving praise from critics.

Following the release of their first two albums in 2008 and after touring extensively across the United States, the band released lead single "The Sea Is a Good Place to Think of the Future" in September 2009, marking a sonic departure from their previous work. It was followed by " There Are Listed Buildings" in November, before the album's release in early 2010.

The album was described by frontman Gareth Paisey as being about "the death and decay of the human body, sex, lost love, mental breakdown, football and, ultimately, that there probably isn’t a light at the end of the tunnel".

Background and release

Following the release of their first two studio albums in 2008, Los Campesinos! "surfed beneath the wave of magazine hype but still started amassing a devout fanbase", according to Rob Hakimian of ''The Line of Best Fit''.

After making her contributions to the album, vocalist and keyboardist Aleksandra Berditchevskaia amicably left the band in August 2009. Drummer Ollie Briggs also left at the time.

Los Campesinos! released lead single "The Sea Is a Good Place to Think of the Future" on 9 September 2009. A "slow-building, atmospherically-arranged epic about death", the track marked a sonic departure from their previous work. It was named a Best New Track on ''Pitchfork'', with critic Ryan Dombal calling the song "the work of a band, not a bunch of enthusiastic devotees".

" There Are Listed Buildings" followed as the second single on 2 November 2009, when it was announced the band's third studio album, ''Romance Is Boring'', would release on 1 February 2010.

Ten-year anniversary (2020)

In February 2020, for the tenth anniversary of ''Romance Is Boring'', Los Campesinos! digitally released a remastered edition of the album featuring a bonus track, "Too Many Flesh Suppers" (originally released in 2010 as a B-side to the "Romance Is Boring" single). They also released an 86-page zine detailing the album's writing, recording and release. Further, the band played two shows over Valentine's Day at the Islington Assembly Hall, London, where they performed the entire album in full.

Composition

''Romance Is Boring'' was recorded in three sessions in 2009 – the first in Stamford, Connecticut then Seattle, Washington from April, and finally Monmouthshire, Wales. It was produced by John Goodmanson.

The album showcases a significant expansion in sound compared to their previous releases. A maximalist album, it is characterised by "densely-knotted and gnashing layers of instrumentation". With string arrangements by violinist Harriet Coleman, several tracks also make use of brass instruments, for the first time in a Los Campesinos! album. ''Romance Is Boring'' remains the longest work by Los Campesinos!, with the track listing split into three acts.

Jordan Sargent of ''PopMatters'' said the album "represents how sonic exploration can actually go right". Writing for ''NME'', Lisa Wright said the album is "incredibly structurally cohesive" and "blows anything they’ve previously released out of the water in terms of textural intricacy, technical prowess and general experimentation". Hakimian continued, that despite the "when the verses are in-your-face and unhospitable, the songs glide into beautifully anthemic choruses, where the melodies shine clear and bright".

When speaking of the album's influences, Bromley cited Pavement, Guided by Voices, Blur and Modest Mouse. Frontman Gareth Paisey cited novelist B. S. Johnson as a lyrical influence. The album features guest appearances from Jamie Stewart of Xiu Xiu, Zac Pennington of Parenthetical Girls, and Jherek Bischoff of the Dead Science.

Critical reception

Initial critical response was very positive. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album has received an average score of 75, based on 24 reviews. Many outlets claimed ''Romance Is Boring'' was the band's best album yet, or one that was a major improvement compared to their previous work – Lisa Wright of ''NME'' said it was "a significant step forward". Similarly, Gareth O'Malley for ''DIY'' said it stands as "a rare example of a band that have improved with each release".

Tony Heywood of London magazine ''MusicOMH'' concluded: "''Romance Is Boring'' is a triumph, a glistening, breathless success. Musically and lyrically Los Campesions! are a rare treasure of a band at the peak of their considerable powers". Other reviews were less positive, like British music magazine ''Uncut'' writing that "the band have beefed up their sound, at the expense of their spindly charm."

Legacy

For the ten year anniversary of ''Romance Is Boring'' in 2020, several publications including ''The Line of Best Fit'' and ''PopMatters'' published retrospectives on the album. Writing for ''Getintothis'', Matthew Eland claimed it remained "their most accomplished record" a decade on, and said that the track "I Just Sighed. I Just Sighed, Just So You Know", "might be the group's best song". On the remaster, Evan Sawdey of ''PopMatters'' concluded: "It’s a remarkable achievement ... and it still stings a decade down the line. ''Romance Is Boring'', the band declares, but this album certainly isn’t". Hakimian wrote that the record "set a path for what was to come in their music in the following years" – the band frontman agreed, claiming that he finds ''Sick Scenes'' (2017) to be more similar to their 2010 output compared to their debut, '' Hold on Now, Youngster...'' (2008). In 2020, ''Vulture'' described the album as the band's "most divisive."

Accolades

Track listing

Personnel

Credits adapted from liner notes.

Musicians

* Los Campesinos!, notably:
** Tom Bromley – music, string arrangements
** Gareth Paisley – writing
** Aleksandra Berditchevskaia – writing (tracks 4, 11)
** Harriet Coleman – string arrangements
** Kim Paisey – shruti box, piccolo
* Zac Pennington – vocals
* Jamie Stewart – vocals
* Eric Corson – vocals
* Jherek Bischoff – vocals, trombone, double bass
* Izaak Mills – saxophone, flute
* Samantha Boshnack – trumpet, flugel horn

Additional personnel

* John Goodmanson – recording, mixing, producer
* Eric Corson – engineering
* Michael Lerner – engineering
* Jackson Long – engineering
* Tom Manning – assistant
* Guy Davie – mastering
* Anna Wayman – cover images

Charts

Release history

References

{{Authority control

2010 albums
Los Campesinos! albums
Arts & Crafts Productions albums
Wichita Recordings albums
Albums produced by John Goodmanson