"When you play pass the parcel with human body parts/Somebody might get head, but someone will get hurt." Any debut EP that starts out with a couplet like that is immediately worth checking out, and Los Campesinos!' Sticking Fingers into Sockets more than lives up to its promise. That opening track, "We Throw Parties, You Throw Knives," is a blur of wordy verses broken up by a sweet-and-sour choral chorus that sounds like the Polyphonic Spree on a Broken Social Scene-style atmospheric downer. In fact, this seven-piece British band is signed to BSS' Arts and Crafts label and this EP was produced by that band's sonic mastermind, David Newfeld, which accounts for the extremely familiar medium-fi miasma of various unexpected instrumental touches and the occasional use of amplifier buzz and tape hiss as musical elements. Fundamentally, however, Los Campesinos! are considerably perkier and poppier than their Canadian mentors: plaintive, tuneful indie pop/rockers like "Don't Tell Me to Do the Math(s)" and the brilliantly shambling "Frontwards" (like if vintage Talulah Gosh had a guest violinist) are more instantly hooky than anything Broken Social Scene have ever attempted, more along the lines of Guillemots or even an artsier version of the Arctic Monkeys. The EP's only real flaw is that at six songs in around 15 minutes, it's just way too short. More please.
Rather, they are a group that contains 6 English men/women and a Russian who sing energetic UK pop, and sing it well, at that.Last Saturday I got to enjoy their music first hand. My husband’s extremely cool 15 year old nephew convinced his mother to bring him from Vancouver BC to Seattle for their show. We got there early so that Nicholas could get up front (good BOY!) and so got to experienc.
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Mogstars: 8/10Twelve seconds into the album and I’ve already been pinned to the wall. Within two minutes I am already exhausted, it seems more like taking a jog than listening to music. Thankfully at two minutes forty the eclectic burst of opening energy finally affords the listener some breathing space. Three minutes per song and just as many chords per-track, this is a vigorous workout of in.
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No, not the Razorlight hit, I am actually referring to the effect that Arts and Crafts/David Newfield has on bands. The most recent of all the mad experiments, Los Campesinos! (exclamation included), from Cardiff, Wales, provide us with another Frankenstein of Drunken-Dance-Rock-Pop-Happiness. I am by no means saying that Los Campesinos! didn't have any talent before David Newfield was brought ...
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Mogstars: 8/10Twelve seconds into the album and I’ve already been pinned to the wall. Within two minutes I am already exhausted, it seems more like taking a jog than listening to music. Thankfully at two minutes forty the eclectic burst of opening energy finally affords the listener some breathing space. Three minutes per song and just as many chords per-track, this is a vigorous workout of in.
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My favorite song title of 07 thus far comes courtesy of Los Campesinos. A great song...with one of my favorite lyrics of the year too: 'It's your party, but I'll die if I want to'
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Rather, they are a group that contains 6 English men/women and a Russian who sing energetic UK pop, and sing it well, at that.Last Saturday I got to enjoy their music first hand. My husband’s extremely cool 15 year old nephew convinced his mother to bring him from Vancouver BC to Seattle for their show. We got there early so that Nicholas could get up front (good BOY!) and so got to experienc.
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/After queuing for 40 minutes, I got my wrist band and program then headed to a local bar to study it while having a late lunch and a few Becks..../In Koko at 6 to catch a subdued Ide Marie followed by an exuberant 'Does It Offend You, Yeah?' who played to a packed audience in a Klaxons stylee.../I REALLY did not want to miss Los Campesinos!, so headed up to The Enterprise which is a great Bozz...
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1. Avril Lavigne, "Girlfriend." Hey hey, youtube youtube ... supposedly the most-viewed YouTube video of all time, although there's a lot of controversy there, if anyone cares. Speaking of controversy, anyone who thinks this sounds like the Rubinoos is deaf.2. M.I.A., "Jimmy." I like Avril Lavigne just fine. But I imagine in 20 years or however many it has to be, it'll be M.I.A. entering the Ro...
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Wow, i literaly just learned of this band thank to "Nothing But Green Lights":nothingbutgreenlights.net (www.nothingbutgreenlights.net), which is just a great blog, but anyway hot damn los campesinos are straight up my alley, intelligent, dancey, un-insuferable pop. I wish i could write more, but i can't quite think of what to say, i'm too excited about trying to find out every scrap of info i ...
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It is ridiculously hot outside. Like "Oh God! My skin is on fire!" hot. So I'm going to throw a song up here that makes me happy and avoid thinking about the fact that the sun seesm to be roughly one mile above me, which makes me sad. Have some Los Campesinos!, then. You also need to go to a decent record store and get their "International Tweexcore Underground" thing, if only to hear them do a...
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We Throw Parties, You Throw Knives...Parties and Knives, interesting combo. And the first single received from Los Campesinos!Sticking Fingers Into Sockets comes out on Arts & Crafts next week. It is the debut album for Los Campesinos! When they were signed I received the assignment to write about it for Spacelab. At the time I didn't know much about them and so had to do some researching and l...
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The only thing that would make this better is to have Elaine from Seinfeld in there.
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Music belongs to places for me. My memories of the past, moments with friends, books I've read, family, girl friends, it's all highlighted by the music I was listening to at the time. And I'm sure it's that way for many of you too, because we've all got those albums that take us back when. Los Campesinos! does that for me. But it's strange the way it happens. Every time I listen to them I have ...
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Photo by Ryan McManus1. "You! Me! Dancing!" - Los Campesinos!2. "The Smile On My Face" - The Two-Bit Terribles3. "Nights of the Living Dead" - Tilly and the Wall4. "Macbeth" - Ciccone Youth5. "The Psychedelic Warlords (Disappear In Smoke)" - Hawkwind6. "Vapour Trail" - Ride7. "Siamesick" - Under Byen8. "Slates, Slags, Etc."- The Fall9. "April Showers" - Math and Physics Club10. "Teenage Caveman...
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No, not the Razorlight hit, I am actually referring to the effect that Arts and Crafts/David Newfield has on bands. The most recent of all the mad experiments, Los Campesinos! (exclamation included), from Cardiff, Wales, provide us with another Frankenstein of Drunken-Dance-Rock-Pop-Happiness. I am by no means saying that Los Campesinos! didn't have any talent before David Newfield was brought ...
More >
Los Campesinos! They're currently in the process of recording their first album. http://myspace.com/loscampesinos
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 "Sticking Fingers into Sockets")
