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Los Campesinos! are a seven-piece
indie pop Indie pop (also typeset as indie-pop or indiepop) is a music genre and subculture that combines guitar pop with a DIY ethic in opposition to the style and tone of mainstream pop music. It originated from British post-punk in the late 1970s and s ...
band from
Cardiff Cardiff (; ) is the capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of Wales. Cardiff had a population of in and forms a Principal areas of Wales, principal area officially known as the City and County of Ca ...
,
Wales Wales ( ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by the Irish Sea to the north and west, England to the England–Wales border, east, the Bristol Channel to the south, and the Celtic ...
, formed in early 2006 at
Cardiff University Cardiff University () is a public research university in Cardiff, Wales. It was established in 1883 as the University College of South Wales and Monmouthshire and became a founding college of the University of Wales in 1893. It was renamed Unive ...
. The band has seen several lineup changes– lead vocalist Gareth David Paisey and guitarists Neil Turner and Tom Bromley are the only remaining original members, now joined by guitarist Rob Taylor, keyboardist Kim Paisey, bassist Matt Fidler and drummer Jason Adelinia. Influenced by the
twee pop Twee pop is a subgenre of indie pop that originates from the 1986 ''NME'' compilation '' C86''. Twee pop gets its name from the aesthetic of twee, which is known for its simplicity and childlike innocence. Some of its defining features are boy-gi ...
movement, the band released their debut studio album, '' Hold on Now, Youngster...'', in February 2008, and followed up with '' We Are Beautiful, We Are Doomed'', in October that year. Both receiving favourable reviews by critics, the former was described by ''
Pitchfork A pitchfork or hay fork is an agricultural tool used to pitch loose material, such as hay, straw, manure, or leaves. It has a long handle and usually two to five thin tines designed to efficiently move such materials. The term is also applie ...
'' as a "giddy, tuneful love note to individuality, pathos – and everything else indie pop built its name on". Their third album, '' Romance Is Boring'' (2010), saw the band expanding their "already sizeable instrumental palette". Since then, Los Campesinos! have issued four more studio albums, with '' All Hell'' (2024) being their most recent release and highest charting album, to date. In 2021, ''Pitchfork'' included Los Campesinos! among the 200 most important artists from the site's first 25 years, and described the group as "the 21st century's most endearing
cult band A cult following is a group of fans who are highly dedicated to a person, idea, object, movement, or work, often an artist, in particular a performing artist, or an artwork in some medium. The latter is often called a cult classic. A film, boo ...
."


History


Formation, signing, and debut singles (2006–2007)

The group was formed at Cardiff University in 2006, originally consisting of Neil Turner on guitar, Ellen Waddell on bass guitar, and Ollie Briggs on drums. In March 2006, Tom Bromley joined the band, assuming the role of lead guitarist, later followed by Gareth Paisey – who became the band's principal lyricist – on lead vocals and glockenspiel, Harriet Coleman on violin and keyboard, and Aleksandra Berditchevskaia on vocals, keyboards and melodica. The band's earliest compositions were influenced by
post-rock Post-rock is a subgenre of experimental rock that emphasizes Texture (music), texture, atmosphere, and non-traditional song structures over conventional rock techniques. Post-rock artists often combine rock instrumentation and rock stylings wit ...
, though no recordings from this era are known to circulate publicly. The word '' campesino'' in Spanish translates to "peasant" or "country person". All members of the band refer to their surnames as "Campesinos!". The band performed their first gig on 8 May 2006 at a student union club night; they went on to play a number of increasingly well-received gigs around Cardiff. An early demo was recorded featuring the songs "Death To Los Campesinos!", "It Started With A Mixx", "Sweet Dreams, Sweet Cheeks", and "You! Me! Dancing!". The songs were posted on the band's
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account which saw their reach and reputation grow, and in August 2006 landed them a slot supporting Canadian supergroup Broken Social Scene. In November 2006, the band were signed by Wichita Recordings. The band's first single, a
double A-side The A-side and B-side are the two sides of vinyl records and cassettes, and the terms have often been printed on the labels of two-sided music recordings. The A-side of a single usually features a recording that its artist, producer, or ...
featuring songs "We Throw Parties, You Throw Knives" and "Don't Tell Me To Do The Math(s)", was released on 26 February 2007. In April, the band signed to Canadian label Arts & Crafts for North American releases. In June 2007, the band released "You! Me! Dancing!" on limited edition 7" coloured
vinyl Vinyl may refer to: Chemistry * Polyvinyl chloride (PVC), a particular vinyl polymer * Vinyl cation, a type of carbocation * Vinyl group, a broad class of organic molecules in chemistry * Vinyl polymer, a group of polymers derived from vinyl ...
, which later went on to feature in an advertisement for
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. This release was accompanied by a handful of live performances in
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, Newport, Cardiff and London. Around this time they were seen playing with bands like Sky Larkin and Johnny Foreigner. Both singles, produced by Dave Newfeld, were released in North America on '' Sticking Fingers Into Sockets'', a
compilation album A compilation album comprises Album#Tracks, tracks, which may be previously released or unreleased, usually from several separate recordings by either one Performing arts#Performers, performer or by several performers. If the recordings are from ...
released in July 2007. The band embarked on their first full UK tour in October 2007, following the release of "The International Tweexcore Underground" on 15 October.


''Hold on Now, Youngster...'' and ''We Are Beautiful, We Are Doomed'' (2008)

Their debut album, '' Hold on Now, Youngster...,'' was released in the UK on 25 February 2008 and in North America on 1 April 2008. They embarked on a European and North American tour in support of the album. Receiving generally positive reviews, publication ''NME'' specifically praised its musicality but criticised its cohesiveness. Other sources such as
Pitchfork A pitchfork or hay fork is an agricultural tool used to pitch loose material, such as hay, straw, manure, or leaves. It has a long handle and usually two to five thin tines designed to efficiently move such materials. The term is also applie ...
and Drowned in Sound, however, lauded the album. The band made their TV debut on '' Tubridy Tonight'' in February 2008. On 1 August 2008, the band announced that a record titled '' We Are Beautiful, We Are Doomed'' would be released before the end of the year, and the date later confirmed for this was 13 October, although that was later delayed to 27 October 2008. Paisey explained the album would not be a "post-album cash in", but "ten all-new tracks". No singles were released from the record, and its distribution was limited. In October 2008, the band performed around the U.K. and in Ireland, headlining the Shred Yr Face tour with support from No Age and Times New Viking. In April 2009, the band played in
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,
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and
Venezuela Venezuela, officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many Federal Dependencies of Venezuela, islands and islets in the Caribbean Sea. It com ...
, their first performances in South America.


''Romance Is Boring'' (2009–2010)

On 2 June 2009, it was announced via the band's blog that lead female vocalist Aleksandra planned to leave the band and return to her studies following a US tour in August. Rob Taylor, whom had opened frequently for the band in a solo capacity as Sparky Deathcap, became an official member, performing guitars, keyboards, percussion and glockenspiel. The band's third studio album, '' Romance Is Boring'', was released on 26 January 2010. It was preceded by the single " The Sea is a Good Place to Think of the Future", a free download released in September 2009, which was described by ''
Vulture A vulture is a bird of prey that scavenges on carrion. There are 23 extant species of vulture (including condors). Old World vultures include 16 living species native to Europe, Africa, and Asia; New World vultures are restricted to Nort ...
'' as a classic of the emo genre, "even if no one really knew what to call it" at the time. " There Are Listed Buildings" was released as the second single in November, coming with the announcement Gareth's sister, Kim Paisey, would join the band as keyboardist and vocalist. The band made their American network television debut on '' Last Call with Carson Daly,'' in which they performed "Romance Is Boring", pre-recorded from their show at the El Rey Theatre in
Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...
in May 2010. In June, drummer Ollie Briggs announced that he had left the band. ''All's Well That Ends'', the band's second EP, was released on 19 July 2010 – the first to feature Rob Taylor, featuring alternative versions of four songs from ''Romance Is Boring''. Jason Adelinia, who had been the band's road manager since 2007 and previously a member of The Ghost Frequency and The Pipettes' backing group, The Cassettes, joined Los Campesinos! not long after.


''Heat Rash'' and ''Hello Sadness'' (2010–2012)

On 9 December 2010, the band announced the launch of a quarterly
magazine A magazine is a periodical literature, periodical publication, print or digital, produced on a regular schedule, that contains any of a variety of subject-oriented textual and visual content (media), content forms. Magazines are generally fin ...
, ''Heat Rash,'' and released a new Christmas song, "Kindle a Flame in Her Heart" as a free download through
SoundCloud SoundCloud is a German audio streaming service owned and operated by SoundCloud Global Limited & Co. KG. The service enables its users to upload, promote, and share audio. Founded in 2007 by Alexander Ljung and Eric Wahlforss, SoundCloud is ...
. Each ''Heat Rash'' release included a magazine, a limited edition 7" vinyl record, and downloads of new music. The first ''Heat Rash'' release included tracks "Light Leaves, Dark Sees" and "Four Seasons". The band's fourth studio album, ''Hello Sadness'', was released on 14 November 2011. Described by Gareth as having a more pop-oriented sound, it was preceded by "By Your Hand", released as a free download in September, and title track "Hello Sadness" in October. To promote the album the band played several tour dates across the UK, the US and Japan. In 2012, the band performed "By Your Hand" on the ''
Late Show with David Letterman ''Late Show with David Letterman'' is an American late-night talk show hosted by David Letterman on CBS, the first iteration of the ''Late Show'' franchise. The show debuted on August 30, 1993, and was produced by Letterman's production com ...
.'' In an interview with the ''
NME ''New Musical Express'' (''NME'') is a British music, film, gaming and culture website, bimonthly magazine, and brand. Founded as a newspaper in 1952, with the publication being referred to as a "Rock music, rock inkie", the ''NME'' would be ...
'', frontman Gareth also confirmed that they would begin work on their fifth album in early 2013.


''A Good Night for a Fistfight'' and ''No Blues'' (2013–2015)

On 7 December 2012, founding member Ellen Waddell announced she would be leaving the band to "try something new" following their show of 15 December at London's Islington Assembly Hall. Her final show also featured former member Aleksandra providing guest vocals during the encore. The show was recorded, and later released the band's first live album, ''A Good Night for a Fistfight''. In August 2013, the band released a teaser trailer for their fifth album, '' No Blues''. Lead single "What Death Leaves Behind" was released as a free download through SoundCloud. This was followed by a second single, "Avocado, Baby", released in October, accompanying a
music video A music video is a video that integrates a song or an album with imagery that is produced for promotion (marketing), promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a music marketing device intended to ...
directed by Craig Roberts. ''No Blues'' was released on 29 October 2013. The band released a six-song Christmas EP, '' A Los Campesinos! Christmas'', on 8 December 2014.


''Sick Scenes'' (2016–2022)

Matt Fidler was announced as the band's seventh member in June 2016. On 24 February 2017, the band released their sixth studio album '' Sick Scenes.'' It was preceded by singles "I Broke Up in Amarante" and "5 Flucloxacillin" and was accompanied by the announcement of the band's first North American tour in four years. In 2018, the band announced that their first two albums would be
remaster A remaster is a change in the sound or image quality of previously created forms of media, whether Mastering (audio), audiophonic, Cinematography, cinematic, or Videography, videographic. The resulting product is said to be remastered. The term ...
ed and reissued on vinyl on 12 October, with an additional EP featuring unreleased tracks. The band also announced that they would perform a concert in commemoration of both albums' tenth anniversary show on 13 October at the London Forum. ''Romance Is Boring'' also received a limited edition remaster and a zine documenting its creation was released. In February 2020, the band performed the album's full track listing at two sold-out shows at Islington Assembly Hall. The 2021 animated film '' The Mitchells vs. the Machines'' incorporates two songs by the band, both from ''Hold on Now, Youngster...''. On 7 May 2021, the band released '' Whole Damn Body'', an EP of remastered tracks from the ''Hello Sadness'' era, via
Bandcamp Bandcamp is an American online music distribution platform founded in 2008 by Oddpost co-founder Ethan Diamond and programmers Shawn Grunberger, Joe Holt and Neal Tucker, with an office and record store in Oakland, California. Acquired by Epic ...
.


''All Hell'' (2023–present)

In an interview with ''
The Big Issue ''The Big Issue'' is a United Kingdom–based street newspaper founded by John Bird and Gordon Roddick in September 1991 and published in four continents. ''The Big Issue'' is one of the UK's leading social businesses and exists to offer ho ...
'' in December 2023, Rob Taylor said Los Campesinos! were working on their seventh studio album. At the band's show at the Troxy in February 2024, Gareth said the album was complete, set to release that summer. They also performed their first new original song since 2017, titled "A Psychic Wound". On 14 May 2024, the band announced in a newsletter that the seventh album, '' All Hell'', would be released on 19 July, consisting of 15 tracks. They also released the album's first single, "Feast of Tongues", which was also their first new song in 7 years and 80 days. The second single from the album, "A Psychic Wound", was released to newsletter subscribers on 16 May, with a streaming release the following day. They also revealed a UK tour for later in the year. Prior to the start of their North American tour, the band released "0898 Heartache", a third single from the album, on June 11. This was followed on July 2 by the fourth and final single, "kms," which features Kim Paisey on lead vocals. Upon its release, ''All Hell'' reached number 14 on the
UK Albums Chart The Official Albums Chart is the United Kingdom's industry-recognised national record chart for album, albums. Entries are ranked by sales and audio streaming. It was published for the first time on 22 July 1956 and is compiled every week by the O ...
, which was the band's highest placement on the chart to date and their first album to reach the Top 40. On 15 November 2024, the band released ''More Hell'', an EP containing reworked versions of five tracks from ''All Hell'', as well as a cover of the song "Wait" by the Secret Stars. The track list is the same as that of the deluxe version of the album, released as a limited edition digital copy on 22 July 2024.


Band sound and influences

When the band first emerged on the
indie pop Indie pop (also typeset as indie-pop or indiepop) is a music genre and subculture that combines guitar pop with a DIY ethic in opposition to the style and tone of mainstream pop music. It originated from British post-punk in the late 1970s and s ...
scene, they were pigeonholed with the '
twee pop Twee pop is a subgenre of indie pop that originates from the 1986 ''NME'' compilation '' C86''. Twee pop gets its name from the aesthetic of twee, which is known for its simplicity and childlike innocence. Some of its defining features are boy-gi ...
' movement, as a result of their lively, joyous music. The band have worked hard since their 2008 debut, ''Hold On Now, Youngster'', to shake this image. With their second recording, '' We Are Beautiful, We Are Doomed'', critics generally applauded the band for adopting a new, darker guise. This continued through their following two albums, though whilst expanding the band's instrumental sounds. In an interview with Noisey in 2017, Gareth recalled that the band was labeled as a twee band early in their career, and they initially embraced the tag because they were happy to have people sharing their opinion on their music. Gareth said, "We did invite the 'twee' label upon ourselves. I'm not sure if it's ever really accurate but it was a useful pigeonhole for us and, well, fair enough." Reflecting their movement away from their early sound, Gareth said, "Some people would use it to reference our most recent records and for me, then, that's just inaccurate. You may as well be calling us
trance Trance is a state of semi-consciousness in which a person is not self-aware and is either altogether unresponsive to external stimuli (but nevertheless capable of pursuing and realizing an aim) or is selectively responsive in following the dir ...
." As a band, they have before claimed to be heavily influenced by Pavement, Modest Mouse,
Guided By Voices Guided by Voices is an American indie rock band formed in 1983 in Dayton, Ohio. It has made frequent personnel changes but always maintained the presence of principal songwriter Robert Pollard. The most well-known lineup of the band consisted o ...
, Blur, The Beautiful South, Xiu Xiu, Broken Social Scene, Built To Spill,
Yo La Tengo Yo La Tengo (Spanish language, Spanish for "I've got it"; also abbreviated as YLT) is an American indie rock band formed in Hoboken, New Jersey, in 1984. Since 1992, the lineup has consisted of Ira Kaplan (guitars, piano, vocals), Georgia Hubley ...
,
Sonic Youth Sonic Youth were an American rock band formed in New York City in 1981. Founding members Kim Gordon (bass, vocals, guitar), Thurston Moore (lead guitar, vocals) and Lee Ranaldo (rhythm guitar, vocals) remained together for the entire history of ...
, Pulp, Belle & Sebastian,
The Magnetic Fields The Magnetic Fields are an American Band (rock and pop), band founded and led by Stephin Merritt. Merritt is the group's primary songwriter, producer, and vocalist, as well as frequent multi-instrumentalist. The band is named after the André B ...
,
Joy Division Joy Division were an English Rock music, rock band formed in Salford in 1976. The group consisted of vocalist, guitarist and lyricist Ian Curtis, guitarist and keyboardist Bernard Sumner, bassist Peter Hook and drummer Stephen Morris (musici ...
and
The Smiths The Smiths were an English Rock music, rock band formed in Manchester in 1982, composed of Morrissey (vocals), Johnny Marr (guitar), Andy Rourke (bass) and Mike Joyce (musician), Mike Joyce (drums). Morrissey and Marr formed the band's songwrit ...
, amongst others. They also cite the literature of B. S. Johnson, obsessions with death, and
football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...
as their non-musical influences. Gareth has cited Paul Heaton, the frontman of The Housemartins and The Beautiful South, as his biggest influence as a songwriter. He told ''
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'', "It's safe to say, if it were not for Paul Heaton, I would never have wanted to write lyrics." Gareth's lyrics regularly feature references and allusions to football; Jeff Rueter of ''
The Athletic ''The Athletic'' is a subscription-based sports journalism department of ''The New York Times''. It provides national and local coverage in 47 North American cities as well as the United Kingdom. ''The Athletic'' also covers national stories ...
'' wrote, "Few bands incorporate football parlance into their lyrics quite like Los Campesinos! — it's become a sort of Easter egg hunt for their fans written by arethDavid. ' Béla Guttmann of love. Curse all my exes to a life of celibacy,' he sings on 'Let It Spill.' 'Dreamt I'm anchoring that midfield, like the anchor in my midriff,' he offers on 'I Broke Up in Amarante.'" From 2020, Gareth was the vice-chairperson of Welton Rovers F.C., a
Western Football League The Western Football League is a association football, football league in South West England, covering Bristol, Cornwall, Devon, Somerset, western Dorset, parts of Gloucestershire and Wiltshire. The league's current main sponsor is Jewson, so it ...
club based in Midsomer Norton. However, in October 2023 he revealed via a private X post that as of the 31st August 2023, he is no longer volunteering for the club.


Members

Though the band formed in Wales, none of the members are Welsh. The members used to replace their surnames with "Campesinos!" as stage names, but discontinued the practice in 2024. * Gareth David Paisey – vocals, glockenspiel (2006–present) * Neil Turner – guitars (2006–present) * Tom Bromley – guitars, keyboards, backing vocals, string arrangements (2006–present) * Kim Paisey – keyboard, flute, vocals (2009–present) * Rob Taylor – keyboards, additional guitars, percussion, backing vocals (2010–present; touring musician 2009–2010) * Jason Adelinia – drums, percussion, programming (2010–present) * Matt Fidler – bass, backing vocals (2014–present; touring musician 2014–2016)


Former members

* Aleksandra Berditchevskaia – keyboards, melodica, vocals (2006–2009; 2012 (one show)) * Ollie Briggs – drums (2006–2010) * Harriet Coleman – violin, keyboards, string arrangements, backing vocals (2006–2011) * Ellen Waddell – bass, backing vocals (2006–2012)


Timeline


Discography

* '' Hold on Now, Youngster...'' (2008) * '' We Are Beautiful, We Are Doomed'' (2008) * '' Romance Is Boring'' (2010) * '' Hello Sadness'' (2011) * '' No Blues'' (2013) * '' Sick Scenes'' (2017) * '' All Hell'' (2024)


References


External links

* * * *
Los Campesinos! on Wichita Recordings

Los Campesinos! on Arts & Crafts
{{DEFAULTSORT:Campesinos!, Los Welsh indie pop groups Musical groups established in 2006 Arts & Crafts Productions artists Welsh noise pop musical groups Rock music groups from Cardiff Wichita Recordings artists Welsh indie rock groups British musical septets 2006 establishments in Wales