Young Offenders

Neil Jones on Los Campesinos! at Cardiff University

April 10th, 2008

They're hard, these homecoming gigs after you've hit upon a bit of success on the sponsored circuit. You're eager to please, but presumably eager to play too with that freedom and excitement you always play with, desperate to prove to the home crowd that you've not become U2.

Not that I've been there of coarse, I'm hypothesising, but I get the impression that Los Campesinos! are feeling a little strange when they get on stage tonight, welcomed by the Cardiff student masses in a place where not so long ago they were getting drunk and pissing about themselves, but it's a collective deep breath, a brave leap into their whirling Pop world, and soon everyone is forgetting the underlying story as sparks fly.

There's a lot of chatter and bitching about Los Campesinos! in the minefields that are indiepop message boards, but all the surrounding intrigue leaves the brain like evil spirits come the first chords of 'Broken Heartbeats Sound Like Breakbeats', the song bouncing out ebulliently over us with some frenzied playing, lead man Gareth C screaming himself into the gig while letting the blinding line of "so I can be the beacon of hope that you always expected" burn deep. It's a typical Los Campesinos! one-two, brilliant melodies sweetly giving way to lyrical moments, and we all succomb.

The melodies continue flying in crazy tempos, three keyboards, a glockenspiel, three guitars, a bass and a violin taking turns to lead and fade into the pulsing background, and the crowd form the wildest of moshpits, the band teasing and cajoling it with unpredictable tempos. For sure, Los Campesinos! as a whole can leave a little to be desired. There are long periods where the music sags in a slightly sedated land between their most poignant and frenzied tracks, but little moments and lines are continually scattered to keep us hooked.

The keys and violin in 'This Is How You Spell Hahaha' are playful here and soaring there, filling out the song subtly and superbly, tempering the festivity with genuine musical wonder, the Los Campesinos! hedonism continuing to come from a poetic musical ambition. Gareth is enjoying himself now, embracing the nostalgic element of being back in Cardiff, telling us of the rat infestation he once had at his house in Cathays (the district of Cardiff where tonight's gig takes place), and forging genuine links with a crowd that most bands that come here would keep themselves aloof from in a veinglorious rock 'n’ roll cocoon.

'The International Tweexcore Underground' is typically self-conscious and slightly awkward, yet brilliant at the same time, an affectionate Pop nugget that makes us smile ear to ear, but the sweetest moment of all comes wrapped in the free-for-all frenzy of 'You! Me! Dancing!', Gareth's line celebrating Cardiff indie staple Twisted by Design coming across as particularly grand. It's a real poignant, grass-roots moment, a genuine gesture from a band who've come from the underground with all its passion intact, and coming in a song so sultry, stylish and teeming with the hopes and dreams of a million Pop kids, it's enough to lift you in the air.

'Sweet Dreams Sweet Cheeks' comes close to a 'You! Me! Dancing!' type of free for all, before Gareth invites everyone back to a bar in town to hear him play some songs, and it all finishes to some post-rock/post-pop craziness. The Pop obsession runs sweetly through the veins of Los Campesinos!, they're fiery celebration of all things youthful and worthy of striving for, and if anyone here walks home feeling over the age of sixteen I'll be surprised. It's the secret of great Pop, and Los Campesinos! have the sparkling knack.

© 2008 Neil Jones

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