- Musicianship
- Production
- Originality
- Vibe
- Vocals
One of the things I love and respect most about Los Campesinos is that nobody else can do what they do. This is not a testament to their technical prowess or maturity; quite the opposite, actually. Gareth Campesinos, the loudest voice among the rabble, is no powerhouse when it comes to singing, especially compared to Kim Campesinos who he shares most of his angsty, lustful words with. All seven members bash on their various instruments, and while skilled they are also sloppy and chaotic.
Every song on their previous albums sounds like it was a first take, with no intention of being perfect. They took these things, which to almost any other band would be huge flaws in the songwriting and recording process, and they completely make them their own. Los Campesinos got into their own groove from the very start, and it filled a void in the indie pop scene that nobody else was able to fill.
Regrettably, Hello Sadness contains none of the things that make them them. Since last year’s Romance is Boring, the Cardiff septet added three new members to their lineup, recording the album with over a dozen people. However, this number is deceptive, and the ultimate result of so many hands and mouths is terribly underwhelming. The first thing I noticed while listening to Hello Sadness was the lack of signature lunacy that caused me to fall in love with the band in the first place. The first track, “By Your Hand,” is a bland trash-pop number that is uncharacteristically radio-friendly, and sounds like it could have been written for one of the countless Passion Pit clones or possibly a mid 2000s Dashboard Confessional.
After that, the album spirals into a seemingly endless gauntlet of false depth and finely tuned arrangements, with no trace of lo-fi madness to be found. The entire record is covered with a glossy sheen, patching the frayed and ragged edges that gave the group’s previous albums so much character and were never meant to be repaired. Despite its average 40-minute length, Hello Sadness drags on, unable to end quickly enough and leaving a foul taste in your mouth when it finally does.
One of the most troubling parts of Hello Sadness is the inexplicable dearth of supporting vocalist Kim Campesinos. The ten-track record does not feature her in any meaningful way until “The Black Bird, The Dark Slope,” seven songs in. There are no back-and-forths that make songs like “Death to Los Campesinos!” and “…And We Exhale and Roll Our Eyes in Unison” so extraordinary.
With Gareth holding a monopoly on the microphone, he sings twice the words with half the heart. Lyrically, the album is much tamer and more melancholy than the previous three, in both content and delivery. While a trace of Gareth’s trademark openness remains, his words are much more carefully chosen in Hello Sadness, without the profundity that came from his past recklessness and apparent spontaneity. His voice is sapped of its energy and passion, and as a result the entire album suffers. I do not know the reason, but one thing seems to be quite clear: the Los Campesinos we know and love are no longer here.
Let me make things clear: I am not criticizing Hello Sadness simply because there are no happy songs on the album, although that is part of the problem. I am criticizing it because there are no good songs on it. Perhaps this was merely a misstep, a venture too deep into the melancholy; after all, they have made sad songs before that could easily be ranked among their best, but they balanced those out with more light-hearted, fast paced tracks that gave the albums a better flow.
Perhaps the band is trying to mature in a manner that would move them past their brash and brazen origins. If the latter is true, it is deeply depressing. Los Campesinos is one of the very few bands that are defined by their refusal to grow up, and while a stylistic change such as Hello Sadness would be a considered a step forward for most bands at this stage in their life, it is an enormous step back for them.
