Almost two decades since Los Campesinos! met at Cardiff University freshers’ week, the band are playing to a sold-out students’ union on their biggest UK tour to date. “It’s not meant to happen like this,” shrugs singer Gareth David. “We were meant to drop off!”
After a lightning bolt of success in the late 2000s with You! Me! Dancing!, a twee indie disco classic which was licensed for a Budweiser advert, Los Campesinos! could have been written off. Instead, the seven-piece group have carefully carved their own path as DIY cult stars. Their self-produced, self-released seventh album All Hell is their first in seven years, and their first to crack the UK Top 20 – supported by a “marketing spend” of just £190.86. “Another way is possible,” the band told proud fans on X.
As further evidence, tonight’s show cements All Hell as a Los Campesinos! classic, ticking off their cosily familiar tropes: elaborate lyrics about local football, doomed romances and the fall of capitalism, backed by climactic, quiet-loud indie rock and influenced by midwest emo, David Berman and the Beautiful South. New tracks tuck neatly within a generous set list spanning all seven records, but Feast of Tongues – a sundowner anthem fantasising about a post-nationalism utopia – gets a hero’s welcome from an already passionate, sweaty audience.
Soft, grungy kms is another fan favourite, a song about sacrifice and depression sung shyly by keyboardist Kim Paisey, as is the fiery To Hell in a Handjob: “This is a song about punching fascists with your mates,” yells David, while drummer Jason Adelinia almost propels his kit off its tiny riser. Paired with 2008 single Knee Deep at ATP, a rager about romantic rejection, it nails the band’s talent for merging raw introspection with outspoken politics.
“Who’s seeing us for the first time?” David asks. A roar goes up from freshers and old hands alike. “Start a band with your mates,” he urges. “In 18 years, you could be using your annual leave to play shows.” Such hope and irony is quintessential LC!, but it’s not hard to believe that a new band has been shown the way tonight.
