When Los Campesinos! emerged in 2007, they had a tendency to exasperate as much as they engaged. For every killer single, such as You! Me! Dancing!, there would be something else that felt like one was being smashed over the head with musical instruments by a talented but hyperactive toddler. The third album from the Cardiff indiepoppers is their strongest yet; one couldn't call it streamlined – singer Gareth (no last names) is a man with an awful lot to say, and little time in which to say it – but it feels a little less cluttered than before. The Pixies-style riffs of the title track and I Warned You: Do Not Make an Enemy of Me are exhilarating, and Straight in at 101 manages that rare thing, a laugh-out-loud couplet that references obscure indie trends: "You need more post-coital, and less post-rock/ The build-up lasts for ever but you never touch my cock." Los Campesinos! now sound a little less like a series of twitching climaxes, and they're the better for it.
(Wichita)
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