Cleveland’s Beachland Ballroom & Tavern invites all of us to hop on and ride the wave of indie pop goodness with Welsh rockers Los Campesinos!
It must be nice living in Cardiff. Home to the world’s oldest record shop (Spillers Records opened in 1894. Cardiff wasn’t even an official city until 1905!) and one of the best rock scenes out there (Lostprophets, Bullet For My Valentine, Funeral For A Friend, Kids in Glass Houses, and The Automatic to name a few), the City of Arcades has recently bequeathed upon us one more gem: Los Campesinos!
With a name that literally translates to “The Peasants,” a sound that is an indie pop band musically reverting back to childhood, and an insistence that all band members make their surname Campesinos!, this 7-piece upstart is destined for big things around the world with their energetic shows and lively, joyous music.
Formed in 2006 at Cardiff University by Neil Turner (guitar), Ellen Waddell (bass), and Ollie Briggs (drums), they quickly added Tom Bromley (lead guitar), Gareth Paisey (lead vocals and glockenspiel), Harriet Coleman (violin and keyboard), and finally Aleksandra Berditchevskaia (vocals, keyboards, and melody horn) when they realized they wanted to diversify their sound. The band made such waves with their live performances and internet success that they were signed about eight months after their first show.
After two years of touring and song development, they began churning out records, with four albums and two EPs in the last four years. With a lyrical style that skews towards the visual and music that frenetically tries to keep you on your toes (very similar to Modest Mouse), all while finding a way to maintain a lever of energy that you can literally hear, even on slower tracks, Los Campesinos! will not disappoint.
For those of you who are in the mood to hear something fresh, something that will grab your attention, something that will broaden your musical horizons and give you a great show in the process, I highly encourage you to head out to the Beachland Ballroom tonight and catch this band, supported by Parenthetical Girls. As an added bonus, spinning records between sets will be Cleveland’s own Dylan Baldi, the mastermind behind Cloud Nothings. You will come away happy that you went.
