Los Campesinos!

Add Date: November 15 

Artist: Los Campesinos! 

Album: Hello Sadness 

Label: Arts & Crafts 

Genre: Rock, indie pop 

Comments: For a band that's been around for scarcely five years, Los Campesinos! already feel like part of the underground musical establishment. Their prolific nature certainly has something to do with that; Hello Sadness is the band's fifth significant release, and their fourth full-length, since debuting in the summer of 2007 with the Sticking Fingers Into Sockets EP. (That gave us Campesinos' first major "single", so to speak, "You! Me! Dancing!", which is now making them lots of money in Budweiser commercials.) And despite the constant onslaught of new material, the closest that this UK troupe has come to a disappointment was their 2010 LP Romance Is Boring, and even that record featured several fine songs.

Everything else in Los Campesinos!' catalog is simply outstanding, and Hello Sadness is no exception. From the opening keyboard lines of "By Your Hand" to late-album rock ballads "To Tundra" and "Light Leaves, Dark Sees Pt. II", this new album is another terrific collection of pop-leaning indie rock songs. Gareth Campesinos!' extremely literate lyrics and punk-inflected delivery perfectly match the band's energy; behind him is a veritable indie-pop ensemble of guitars, percussion, keyboards, violin and the occasional horns. Though the lineup has changed during the band's short tenure, the 7-piece outfit has maintained its high level of musicianship throughout.

Another wonderful record--begin with tracks 2, 3, 1, 7 and 8.