Categories : Music Reviews, Rock + Pop.
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Rating: 4 / 5 Reviewer: David Coats |
Bursting onto the scene with 2007’s Sticking Fingers Into Sockets EP, and followed by two of 2008’s best full-lengths (Hold On Now, Youngster and We Are Beautiful, We Are Doomed), Los Campesinos! quickly earned a reputation as one of indie rock’s wittiest, most energetic, and most authentic punk loyalists. Romance Is Boring signals a subtle shift towards something musically and lyrically more personal, introspective, and dark.
When you were in high school, you probably experienced relationship disappointments that you thought were a big deal at the time, but that you could kind of thumb your nose at later, satirically chalking it up to the ridiculousness of growing up. When you get to your late twenties, though, and you continued to experience disappointments, there’s a tendency to take them more to heart, to laugh at them less, and even though your sense of irony remains, it’s harder to apply it to yourself. Romance Is Boring follows this path, with a sense of gentle defeatism and pessimism that isn’t as sharp, but more heartfelt (“If you were given the option of dying painlessly in peace at forty-five…after a full and happy life, is this something that would interest you?”), focusing on the gaps between people and expectations versus reality.
Romance Is Boring is also more musically subtle and diverse than either of its predecessors, even including several ambient ballads to accentuate the emotion of lyrics like “I can’t believe I chose the mountains every time you chose the sea.” The band has learned to pace itself and to utilize dynamics, making songs like ‘We’ve Got Your Back (Documented Minor Emotional Breakdown #2)’ and ‘Straight In At 101’ all the more satisfying. The songs are also melodically understated – guitars and vocals carry the day now, along with valuable horn and string contributions, rather than depending on excessive glockenspiel sparkles. It makes for an album that isn’t as fun as their previous work, but one that ultimately offers more depth and maturity.
