The Sea Is A Good Place To Think Of The Future from Los Campesinos! on Vimeo.

Over here at The Tripwire, we’re still looking for our winter coat, and have been forced to rock a few more sweater/hoodie combos than we might have liked otherwise. Needless to say, we’re a bit worried about this whole winter thing, and think by the time February comes around we might need a real pick-me-up. Luckily, the folks from Los Campesinos! seem downright ideal for such a scenario (they’re music allows you to pretend it’s sunny even though it’s actually not!) and as it turns out they’ve just announced their upcoming Romance Is Boring will be released February 1, with single “These Are Listed Building” arriving on November 2. Check out the tracklisting below as well as a clip for “The Sea Is A Good Place To Think Of The Future” above.

Romance Is Boring

1. In Medias Res
2. There Are Listed Buildings
3. Romance Is Boring’
4. We’ve Got Your Back (Documented Minor Emotional Breakdown #2)
5. Plan A
6. 200 – 102
7. Straight In At 101
8. Who Fell Asleep In
9. I Warned You: Do Not Make An Enemy Of Me
10. Heart Swells/100-1
11. I Just Sighed. I Just Sighed, Just So You Know
12. A Heat Rash In The Shape Of The Show Me State; or, Letters From Me To Charlotte
13. The Sea Is A Good Place To Think Of The Future
14. This Is A Flag. There Is No Wind
15. Coda: A Burn Scar In The Shape Of The Sooner State

(Via: NME)

We came, we saw, we sweated. San Francisco Outside Lands attendees were gifted with a heat wave, sans rash, for the first day of the weekend-long festival, and never before have we seen people more confused (the natives knew this was an oddity). Also, all the indie boys who decided to take off their shirts only upped the hotness factor, considering their torsos served as a light deflector and blinded everyone in sight. Holy whiteness, Batman.

With seven stages situated on two meadows and the main polo field in Golden Gate Park, we have to say that this year’s experience toppled last year’s (you know, where I cried a bunch and then scraped my elbow), with a million tents set up for food, photobooths, prizes, massages, wine tastings, free hugs, trampolines, and even a phone charging station. And while the smaller stages boasted a very impressive knit of indie, electronica, and even hip-hop acts, the main stage line-up felt slightly too 90’s. I do own Pearl Jam’s “Ten” on cassette tape though, so maybe I’m not one to judge.

Highlights include:
- the choice people watching we were afforded as we wandered around the site
- Silversun Pickups and Los Campesinos! slaying their sets
- running around San Francisco at night with no jacket on
- remembering how much we were in love with Incubus’s Brandon Boyd in 11th grade
- Throwing blue lacey underwear at Tom Jones

Day one, you ain’t so bad.

Autolux

Akron/Family

Los Campesinos!

The Dodos

Silversun Pickups

Tom Jones

Welsh pop maniacs Los Campesinos! are about ready to begin a lengthy US tour that will be their first since losing a Campesinos and finishing work on their forthcoming full-length. As a tribute to the American road and local record stores, the band have decided to bring along a box for vinyl, one that they will be buying and adding seven-inches to in each city they stop. Fans will have a shot at winning the box’s contents by the end of said tour, some details for which were disclosed by Gareth Campesinos in the above video. On a side note: someone should write in and ask dude how the English national side performed in last year’s European championships. Oh wait…

Current Contents Of Box (to be added to lots):

• Xiu Xiu/High Places 7″ Split (includes David Horvitz polaroid)
• Lovvers Laughing Man 7″
• Casiotone For The Painfully Alone Town Topic EP
• BARR The Song Is The Single 7″
• Miscellaneous Badges
• A couple of ‘Zines.

Welsh indie rawkers Los Campesinos! delivered some bittersweet news today via their blog, announcing that while an August tour has been scheduled, it will be the last for bandmember Aleks Campesinos!.

The vocalist/keyboardist/horn player will leaving the septet in order to return to her studies after having just wrapped up recording her final album as a Campesino. Commenting on the departure, the band promises, “The girl will go out in fuckin style; we will make completely sure of that.” San Francisco drug pop outfit Girls will be providing support.

08.04.09 – New York, NY (Webster Hall)
08.05.09 – Washington, DC (9:30 Club)
08.06.09 – Cleveland, OH (Grog Shop)
08.07.09 – Indianapolis, IN (Spin Nightclub) *
08.08.09 – Chicago, IL @ (Lollapalooza)
08.11.09 – St. Louis, MO @ (Firebird)
08.12.09 – Kansas City, MO @ (Record Bar)
08.14.09 – Austin, TX @ (Emo’s)
08.15.09 – Dallas, TX @ (Granada Theatre)
08.16.09 – Houston, TX @ (Warehouse)
08.19.09 – Albuquerque, NM @ (Launchpad)
08.20.09 – Tucson, AZ @ (Club Congress)
08.21.09 – Los Angeles, CA @ (El Rey Theatre)
08.22.09 – Pomona, CA @ (Glass House)
08.23.09 – Costa Mesa, CA @ (Detroit Bar)
08.25.09 – Las Vegas, NV @ (Beauty Bar) *
08.28.09 – San Francisco, CA @ (Outside Lands Festival)
08.29.09 – San Diego, CA @ (Street Scene)
* w/o Girls

At last, the Lollapalooza rumors are put to rest — Depeche Mode, Tool, The Killers, Beastie Boys, Kings of Leon and (of course) Jane’s Addiction will be headlining this year’s festival, along with an impressive cast of supporting bands, Lollapalooza organizers confirmed today.

More than 100 bands/artists/DJs will take the Lolla stage this year, including TV on the Radio, Vampire Weekend, Andrew Bird, Animal Collective, Arctic Monkeys, Fleet Foxes, Silversun Pickups, Bon Iver, Crystal Castles, Los Campesinos! and Passion Pit. This year’s event will also introduce “Perry’s”, a nightclub style stage featuring dance and electronic music. The DJs set to spin include MSTRKRFT, Bassnectar, DeadMau5, Animal Collective and Bloody Beetroots.

After selling out last year for the first time since Lollapalooza took roots in Chicago, ticket sales don’t seem to be lagging. Early bird discount passes went on sale at the end of March for $195. Regular priced tickets are $205, and of course if you’re not like the rest of us, worrying about saving $10 on a $200 concert ticket, you can always check out the VIP options at Lollapalooza.com.

Lollapalooza 2009
Depeche Mode
Tool
The Killers
Jane’s Addiction
Beastie Boys
Kings of Leon
Lou Reed
Ben Harper and Relentless 7
Thievery Corporation
Snoop Dogg
Rise Against
Andrew Bird
TV on the Radio
Vampire Weekend
The Decemberists
Neko Case
STS9 (Sound Tribe Sector 9)
Animal Collective
Band of Horses
Of Montreal
Arctic Monkeys
Coheed and Cambria
Ben Folds
Fleet Foxes
Silversun Pickups
Kaiser Chiefs
Crystal Castles
Bon Iver
Santigold
Atmosphere
Dan Auberbach
Cold War Kids
Deerhunter
Lykke Li
Robert Earl Keen
Peter Bjorn and John
Heartless Bastards
Gomez
Glasvegas
Federico Aubele
Dan Deacon
Passion Pit
The Raveonettes
The Gaslight Anthem
The Airborne Toxic Event
White Lies
Ra Ra Riot
No Age
Asher Roth
Los Campesinos!
Bat For Lashes
Chairlift
Gang Gang Dance
The Virgins
Amazing Baby
Portugal. The Man
The Knux
Ida Maria
Delta Spirit
Friendly Fires
Manchester Orchestra
Constantines
Ezra Furman & The Harpoons
Hockey
Miike Snow
Alberta Cross
Hey Champ
Sam Roberts Band
The Henry Clay People
Davy Knowles and Back Door Slam
Cage the Elephant
Living Things
The Low Anthem
Blind Pilot
Langhorne Slim
Other Lives
The Builders and The Butchers
Eric Church
Joe Pug
Kevin Devine
The Green Cards
Carney
Thenewno2

Featured performers at Perry’s
Bassnectar
MSTRKRFT
Simian Mobile Disco
DeadMau5
Boys Noise
KiD CuDi
Crookers
A-Trak
Hercules and Love Affair (DJ Set)
The Bloody Beetroots (DJ Set)
LA Riots
Kaskade
The Glitch Mob
Hollywood Holt
Rye Rye
He Say, She Say
Car Stereo (Wars)
Dark Wave Disco
Moneypenny
Yello Fever
Animal Collective (DJ Set)

When we heard Los Campesinos! was hitting the States in support of We Are Beautiful, We Are Doomed, we got giddy with excitement. After all, their debut LP was our pick for the fourth best record of 2008. With their joyful demeanor and English beer drinking abilities in tow, The Cardiff, Wales septet proved to be the perfect band to take bowling.

After bringing nearly 40 people with us the last time out, only having to bring six (violinist Harriet was absent for the first half of their tour) people was a more organized change of pace for us. While we all bowled, the band chatted with us about the current music coming out of the UK, their polyamorous relationships, ex-girlfriends and mud-wrestling, among other things.

Like their happy music with lyrics that offer more insight than artists twice their age — let alone straight out of college — our conversation was one of the easiest interviews we’ve encountered. To use the word charming would be an understatement, as each member took turns giving us funny anecdotes and insight into the world of Los Campesinos!, while we set the bar for all interviews to come (their words, not ours). You can see still photos from our excursion at The Gutter below the video feature.

Bowling With The Band – Los Campesinos!

Overly caffeinated enthusiams abounds on Hold On Now, Youngster…, bombarding your eardrums with shout-along chant-tastic choruses, hand claps and a broad range of instrumentation randing from Glockenspiel to violins. Looking back to their previous EP, Sticking Fingers Into Sockets, I described Los Campesinos!‘ sound as if “Bis had babies with Arcade Fire.” That still remains spot on, although I’d add bits of The Go! Team and perhaps even Belle & Sebastian on a ridiculous sugar high. –Chip Adams

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