MusicMakers
Pep With a Dose of Pathos
Listen Closely to the Spunky Rock of Los Campesinos! and You'll Hear a Dark Side
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Friday, May 16, 2008
When Los Campesinos! frontman Gareth Campesinos wails that he "never cared about Ian MacKaye" on his band's single, "The International Tweexcore Underground," he isn't committing an act of punk rock heresy against the D.C. icon.
Even though he proceeds to similarly dis former Black Flag singer Henry Rollins, the much-asked-about song is actually a love story, bandmate Aleksandra Campesinos says. The protagonists of said romance are two small-town kids who have divergent tastes in music: One loves the bright melodies and optimism of twee pop; the other enjoys the grit and intensity of hardcore.
"Even though they're totally against each other's musical viewpoints, they're the only people in the town who actually understand anything about music," Aleksandra says. "They kind of unite against everyone else in the town. Even though they're very different, their passion for different types of music brings them together."
The romantic union of youthful pep and driving rock that is the basis of that song is also a pretty apt description of the music of Los Campesinos!
The Welsh septet's new album, "Hold On Now, Youngster . . .," is a spunky fusion of both elements, with loud guitars and shouted vocals playing off the band's full-time violin player and a liberal dose of glockenspiel.
"We do have these fun, playful elements, and that really contrasts with some of the lyrics because they can be quite dark and scathing," Aleksandra says. "I personally don't shy away from people calling our music playful -- it's a nice way to categorize it."
Aleksandra shares vocal duties with Gareth, who is the band's songwriter. She is right: Though the melodies are often bright, the lyrics are often grim. On "We Are All Accelerated Readers," Gareth cries: "I'm not Bonnie Tyler/And I'm not Toni Braxton/And this song is not going to save your relationship."
While the band's literate, snarky lyrics toe the line between bratty and lovably precocious, what makes the songs on "Hold On Now, Youngster . . ." likable are Gareth's self-effacing tendencies.
For example, Gareth says the song "Knee Deep at ATP" is based on a girl he met at the All Tomorrow's Parties music festival.
"If I'm going to base female attractiveness on what bands a girl likes, then I'm making myself expendable, because she might meet a bloke who likes better bands than me and has a better haircut," he says.
The band (whose name is Spanish for "the farmers" or "the peasants") has gained an international following thanks to such Web sites as Drowned in Sound and MySpace. Aleksandra says that none of the Campesinos, who all have adopted the surname, thought there would be such a large response to their music.
"No one really expected it, just like we didn't expect it," she says. "All of our parents are really excited. They probably know more about what's going on on . . . MySpace than we do. My dad actually informs me how many plays we've had on the MySpace player, and they'll find these obscure Internet references. I don't know how my parents come on to some of the stuff that they find."
The band's show Friday at the Black Cat is part of its longest stateside tour yet.
Says Aleksandra, "It's really overwhelming to go across the Atlantic Ocean and have people know your songs."
Los Campesinos! Appearing Friday at the Black Cat, 1811 14th St. NW. Show starts at 9. Tickets:$12; available at the box office, 202-667-7960 or http:/
