Album Review: Hello Sadness – Los Campesinos!

Los Campesinos – Hello Sadness

9/10

With alt flavored indie-pop sounds abound, The Campesinos bring us another dingy, yet awkwardly danceable lineup of sugary angst. The songs on Hello Sadness are approachable enough to jump around to, but in traditional Campesino style, the lyrics might leave you thinking more often than dancing. By Your Hand is a fairly strong opener that sets the tone for much of the album, and the feeling stays strong into the song Life Is A Long Time. At forty minutes, the album certainly doesn’t overextend itself, or show signs of dragging on even by its midpoint. Hate For the Island marks a mellow interruption in the sound of the album at only two minutes in length, making it the only track that’s seemingly a touch out of place. Stylistically, Hello Sadness (not to be confused with the title track) stays very true to the band’s quirky songwriting, and works into an approach that could almost garner mainstream attention. The track To Tundra slows down the breakneck pace of their energetic jams enough to bring out the wistful words behind Gareth’s vocals. Hello Sadness’s closer, Light Leaves, Dark Sees Pt. II, drops the album into an chilled-out trudge of drums crashing alongside the shrill sighs of their guitars. Of their four releases, Los Campesinos haven’t disappointed us yet, and with all that’s good about Hello Sadness, there’s hardly a thing to be sad about.

– Chris Niday


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