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Feb 23, 2017 Issue # 59 - 15th Anniversary By Ilana Kaplan

It’s been a minute since Los Campesinos! have put out any new music. The last time we got a sampling of new Los Campesinos! tunes was when the band decided to release a Christmas EP in 2014. The band consistently know how to put out songs that are polarizing: tracks that either emanate immense joy or heartbreaking sadness. It’s something they’ve succeeded at throughout their six album span. The indie pop band has never released a subpar album; instead they’ve been consistent in creating songs that resonate on both lyrical and sonic levels. And their latest, Sick Scenes is no different.

The band have always been able to successfully blend pop, folk, and punk with the same grace and comical ability that The New Pornographers have been able to do throughout their career. The first single from Sick Scenes, “I Broke Up In Amarante,” shows the more punk side to the seven-piece Welsh outfit, while “A Slow, Slow Death” shows the band’s knack for humor around the more morbid subjects of life. If you didn’t listen to the lyrics, you would think the song was uncannily upbeat but for the title. On “Got Stendhal’s,” there’s an anthemic quality reminiscent of the catchy “By Your Hand” from Hello Sadness. “A Litany/A Heart Swells” shows the poetic beauty that the band possesses, with a harmonized chorus over a symphony. “The Fall of Home” is perhaps the most striking song on Sick Scenes and serves as a timeless gem that leaves you nostalgic for your youth: “Left your hometown for somewhere new/Don’t be surprised now it’s leaving you.”

What Los Campesinos! have really accomplished over their decade-long career is weaving hope into each and every one of their songs, happy or sad. It’s a skill that not every band can say they’ve mastered, but with a ton of drumwork and punk-fueled guitar-rhythms, Los Campesinos! continue to hone in on their craft in the best way possible. (www.loscampesinos.com)

Author rating: 7/10