Los Campesinos!

Los Campesinos! (LC! to fans, lovers, choice acquaintances, and badge makers) are on the verge. Of many things. Losing their marbles hopefully not being one of them, despite the somewhat frenzied agenda of the coming months. Sound of mind (for the moment at least) and armed with youthful enthusiasm, bidding a fond farewell to academia, student dwellings, and essay-writing awaits. As is a summer of musical indulges and major achievements.

Following a year of infrequent live shows - an indulgence for those lucky enough to have heard the band's early demos - and the release of their debut single back in February, our Cardiff septet release 'You! Me! Dancing! on Wichita Recordings on June 4th.

With the onset of Summer 2007, comes lives shows, rehearsals, recording and yet more hard graft for LC! Alongside the release of "Y! M! D!" in June comes a handful of UK shows including one at London's Scala, before the band head Stateside for their first North American tour, and finally to Canada to record their debut album with Broken Social Scene producer David Newfeld. Their debut album is planned for release at the start of 2008.

Whilst wishing to avoid the usual hyperbolic pitfalls descriptions of many an esteemed young new band succumb to, if one could choose a single word to surmise LC!, it would probably be 'inevitable'. 'You! Me! Dancing!' is a faultless introduction to their sizeable potential.

Celebrating a bratty, tongue-in-cheek viewpoint and a spunky indie-punk style similar to Art Brut while applying an assortment of instruments akin to Architecture in Helsinki, seven-piece group Los Campesinos! (roughly translating to "the Peasants") formed in 2006 in Cardiff, Wales. The lineup includes Aleksandra (keyboard, horn), Ellen (bass), Gareth (glockenspiel), Harriet (violin, keyboard), Neil (guitar), Ollie (drums), and Tom (guitar), with all members sharing vocals and the last name of Campesinos! The band played its first show in May 2006 and by the following August opened for Broken Social Scene. Later that year they signed to U.K. label Wichita, which released their first single in early 2007. A few months later they were added to the roster of Canadian label Arts & Crafts. That summer the band's young catalog expanded with another single from Wichita and an EP from Arts & Crafts titled Sticking Fingers into Sockets, produced by David Newfeld (Broken Social Scene). The full-length Hold on Now, Youngster... followed in early 2008. After a long tour that took up much of the year (and included a stop in Seattle to record new songs), their second full length album We are Beautiful, We are Doomed was released in November of the same year. ~ Kenyon Hopkin, All Music Guide