Los Campesinos!: Romance Is Boring

Label: Arts & Crafts

Album number three from this Wales-based septet (on the Canadian label known for its many large bands) delivers exactly what fans — and there are many — want: 15 songs of shout-along choruses, classic boy-girl trade-off vocals and no-nonsense melodic hooks fringed with twittering sounds and studio effects. Lyrically, Los Campesinos! have only sharpened their bite; don’t let the album title fool you, if Romance Is Boring then these kids want to bore you — with shards of guitar and revved-up rhythms. “I think we need / More post-coital and less post-rock / Feels like the build-up takes forever / But you never touch my cock” they sing on “Straight In at 101.” Sound boring to you? Didn’t think so. (Come to think of it, it doesn’t sound all that romantic either, but hey.) The ringing, bouncy single “There Are Listed Buildings” is just one of many soon-to-be-faves. (Antoine)