Sunday, December 14, 2008

#13 Album of 2008: We Are Beautiful, We Are Doomed - Los Campesinos!






We Are Beautiful, We Are Doomed

Los Campesinos!
Arts & Crafts Records.



Because I wasn’t so hot on Los Campesinos! when their full-length debut landed in April of this year, I judged my initial listens of We are Beautiful, We Are Doomed on some strange, year-end weakness. Was I just desperate for a record? Was my need for upbeat indie-pop the result of my seasonal depression starting early? I’ve since buried those excuses and recognized that Los Campesinos! have assembled one of my favourite records this year (one that likely would’ve placed higher had I more time with it). It’s a half-hour mess that offers so much more than the band would give off on first-impression. Compulsively self-abusive and romantically explicit, this follow-up portrays the young Welsh band as far more restless, far more art-rock, than adorable and twee.

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