Above, please view our new Merchandise, which you can obtain from the “Buy Merch” link to the left of this blog post.

Black “We’ve Got Your Back” tee designed by Mr C M Ruiz (he who did all the WAB,WAD art)

White “Heart Swells” tee by Sparky Deathcap and myself.

‘Romance Is Boring’ Mugs, my crappy handwriting.

All will be available at our coming shows.

LC! GLOCK AUCTION

In the past three years of doing interviews I’ve constantly been amazed at how much interviewers seem to care about the fact some of our songs include a glockenspiel. Not just casual mentions but whole interviews centering around the thing, as if there’s actually anything interesting to be said about it.

The glockenspiel was an accident. I borrowed it from school one time to use in mine and Kim’s old band, and kind of forgot to ever return it. It wasn’t a deliberate steal, but I don’t feel too guilty about it as glockenspiels were ten a penny at my school. Thrust into the hand of any poor, uninterested child in compulsory music lessons, after they’d mastered Merrily We Roll Along on the recorder, and driven the teachers nuts by exhausting every preset rhythm track on the keyboards.

In the band’s formative stages our songs were either the ‘pop hits’ of yore (Death To Los Campesinos! (then catchily known as Track 1), Y! M! D!, Broken Heartbeats…) or these by numbers post-rock efforts we knocked up (I actually thought they were alright). Having no musical ability and enough common sense not to insist upon doing some spoken word whine about girls on top of these songs, I turned to the glock for something to do with my hands. And it stuck. I wish I just opted to use the opportunity to go to the bar.

It’s served us well. For better, for worse I think we’d be near the top of any list of “bands what use a glock”, and I’m sure it’s a buzz word that piqued a few peoples’ interest in us, but it’s become the bane of my existence. I look around onstage and see my friends thrashing at guitars, or hitting the shit out of drums, or even masterfully taming a violin, and then I look to the end of my arm and see myself clutching at this dainty beater, and as I do so I physically feel my testosterone levels decline.

Y’see, I KNOW that nobody looks at somebody playing a glockenspiel and thinks “He’s cool, I want to be like him”. They more likely think “he wets the bed”. Nobody’s ever got laid off the back of playing the glockenspiel, and let’s face it, that’s the whole reason people start bands in the first place. It would almost be worth it if I could play it well, but I play glock in the same way Richie Edwards played the guitar. I’m mostly just coasting along thanks to my good looks.

People have come up to me after gigs (some of them GROWN ADULTS) and said that they’ve bought a glockenspiel (actually, they usually say “xylophone”, but I know what they mean) off the back of liking our band. I feel awful. It’s like how Davina McCall would feel if someone came up to her and said “I loved you in Streetmate so I started taking smack”.

And so, it’s with a heart full of helium that I’m auctioning off Los Campesinos!’ first ever glockenspiel. This piece of crap was used on our initial demos, the Sticking Fingers Into Sockets EP, and on Hold On Now, Youngster… . It’s travelled all over the world, had numerous pints of beer spilt over it and always been treated with a firm but sensual hand, emasculating me time after time. All money made from the sale of the thing will be donated to the relief effort in Haiti, so if you’d like to own it (and I know that YOU obviously don’t), please bid far more than it’s actually worth.

So, today saw the release of Romance Is Boring in the UK. I hope you like it. We do.

Thought I’d just do a blog post to tie up some loose ends/remind you of some things/etc

• Thank you ever so much to all those of you who came to the Rough Trade instore on Sunday. It was an incredibly fun show to play. We’re excited to be playing all the new songs, and although a couple of them were a little shaky yesterday, we felt it was a cracking day.
• Slight (!) frustration that the slipcases for the UK CD version of the album came back printed incorrectly. This was not our fault, or anybody who directly works with us, but an error by the printers. They are supposed to be matt, but as a result of this cock up, a lot of the CD slipcases are gloss. We will be carrying the correct slipcases with us on the UK tour, so you can come claim one if you like. I understand that this slight difference won’t bother many people, but it bloody bothers me, alright? Cool.
• There was a little confusion with some of the dates on our US tour. I was given some incorrect information, so, unfortunately, despite being told that the Boston show would be All Ages, it is in fact an 18+ show. Good news for different people though. We have been able to make the Toronto show All Ages. We always endeavour to make our shows All Ages, but sometimes it’s just not possible, I’m afraid.
• The song Too Many Flesh Suppers is available on iTunes as an “album bonus track”. 79p for one of my favourite songs we ever recorded. It was recorded during the Romance Is Boring sessions, but never really ‘fit’ on the record, y’know?
• I’ve been trying to tease international release dates out of people for a while, and eventually got the answer that it should be out everywhere by now. Only place I’m unsure of is Australia, which I’ll keep enquiring about. Wish me luck.
• Sunday night, some of our music was used as the bed track to introduce the Arsenal v Manchester United match on Match Of The Day 2. Definitely up there with my proudest moments.
• The incredibly talented Marc Ellerby drew a comic strip including one of our songs. Nothing like a bit of mutual fandom.
• A few people have enquired about the press shots that have accompanied all the recent chat about us. They’re by the brilliant Jon Bergman, who also did the birds of prey shoot for us.
• And finally, a reminder that we’ve got a load of tour dates coming up. Some of the UK Dates are already sold out, and others are close to, so I’d recommend getting a ticket in advance to avoid potential disappointment. Unless you live in Falmouth. Also, all current touring plans will be undertaken by the eight piece Campesinos!, which means we’ll be joined by Mr Sparky Deathcap, Rob, in our band once again. Always a pleasure.

(with Islet and Swanton Bombs)
11 Feb Wrexham, Central Station (14+)
12 Feb Liverpool, EVOL@O2 (14+)
13 Feb York, Fibbers (14+)
15 Feb Aberdeen, Tunnels (14+)
16 Feb Dundee, Dog House (14+)
17 Feb Edinburgh, Bongo (18+)
18 Feb Derby, The Venue (14+)
19 Feb Leicester, The Musician (14+)
21 Feb Cambridge, Junction (14+)
22 Feb Norwich, Arts Centre (14+)
23 Feb Brighton, Audio New Slang Night (16+)
24 Feb Portsmouth, Wedgewood Rooms (14+)
25 Feb London, KOKO (15+)
26 Feb Falmouth, Princess Pavillion (ALL AGES)
27 Feb Bristol, Thekla (14+)
01 Mar Birmingham, The Rainbow (18+)
02 Mar Northampton, Roadmender (14+)
03 Mar Reading, Plug & Play (16+)
04 Mar Kingston, Banquet New Slang (18+)
-
(with Copy Haho)
10 Mar Munich (GERMANY), Atomic Cafe
11 Mar Zurich (SWITZERLAND), Club Room
12 Mar St Gallen (SWITZERLAND), Theater Palace
13 Mar Cologne (GERMANY), Gebaude 9
14 Mar Amsterdam (HOLLAND), Melkweg
15 Mar Paris (FRANCE), Le Point Éphémère
17 Mar Hamburg (GERMANY), Molotov
18 Mar Brussels (BELGIUM), Rotonde
-
(MORE US SHOWS TO BE ADDED)
20 April Toronto, ONT Phoenix Theatre (ALL AGES)
22 April New York, NY Irving Plaza (ALL AGES)
24 April Boston, MA Paradise Rock Club (18+)
27 April Washington, DC 9:30 Club (ALL AGES)
30 April Chicago, IL Cabaret Metro (ALL AGES)
04 May Seattle, WA Showbox Theatre (ALL AGES)
07 May San Francisco, CA Grand Ballroom (ALL AGES)
08 May Los Angeles, CA El Rey Theatre (ALL AGES)
-
21 May Cardiff, Solus

Friday May 21st – Solus, Cardiff

It is our pleasure to announce that on Friday May 21st we will be playing a headline show at Cardiff University’s Solus venue. It’s always a joy to play a show in Cardiff, but playing in the same venue (albeit on a far bigger stage) as our first ever gig, nearly exactly four years on, makes it all the more special.

Romance Is Boring is released (as you may be aware) on February 1st, and for that week only, you can buy a copy of the album, plus a ticket to this show for only £18 from Cardiff’s premiere record shop, Spillers. Tickets will go on wider sale, later this week, at the price of £12.

On this coming Sunday, January 31st we will be playing a FREE instore at Rough Trade East, Brick Lane, to celebrate the release of Romance Is Boring.

HERE’S THE DEAL:

Rough Trade will be selling CD and LP copies of the album on the day; the day before the album’s UK release. You can guarantee a wristband (and therefore entry to the show) by purchasing a copy of said record from the store earlier on in the day.

OBVIOUSLY, if you’ve already pre-ordered the thing, it’s unfair to expect you to buy another copy, SO, if you email your proof of purchase to romanceisboring (at) gmail (dot) com with your full name and the subject title (this is important) RT Instore List, we will put your name on a guestlist.

A COUPLE OF THINGS:

• We won’t start playing until the Manchester United v Arsenal match is finished, so you don’t need to worry about missing the end of that, incase you would have been. For those of you who, for whatever reason, do not live your life according to football, that means we’ll be on 6ish.
• Obviously this instore is aimed at promoting and showcasing Romance Is Boring, so expect a set made up entirely of tracks from the new album. Because they are really fun for us to play right now.

Of course, this is a precursor to the MASSIVE ‘Romance Is Boring’ tour.

11 Feb Wrexham, Central Station (14+)
12 Feb Liverpool, EVOL@O2 (14+)
13 Feb York, Fibbers (14+)
15 Feb Aberdeen, Tunnels (14+)
16 Feb Dundee, Dog House (14+)
17 Feb Edinburgh, Bongo (18+)
18 Feb Derby, The Venue (14+)
19 Feb Leicester, The Musician (14+)
21 Feb Cambridge, Junction (14+)
22 Feb Norwich, Arts Centre (14+)
23 Feb Brighton, Audio New Slang Night (16+)
24 Feb Portsmouth, Wedgewood Rooms (14+)
25 Feb London, KOKO (15+)
26 Feb Falmouth, Princess Pavillion (ALL AGES)
27 Feb Bristol, Thekla (14+)
01 Mar Birmingham, The Rainbow (18+)
02 Mar Northampton, Roadmender (14+)
03 Mar Reading, Plug & Play (16+)
04 Mar Kingston, Banquet New Slang (18+)

It is our pleasure to announce that in this coming April/May we will once again traverse the Atlantic Ocean to play shows in North America. These are SOME OF the dates. More to be announced in due course, so please don’t go flipping out just yet if we don’t appear to be playing somewhere you would like us to be. There’ll still be plenty of time for that later.

We’re very excited to be touring Romance Is Boring in the States and Canada, and playing all these new songs to you.

(All shows ALL AGES unless marked otherwise)

April
20 Toronto, ONT Phoenix Theatre
22 New York, NY Irving Plaza
24 Boston, MA Paradise Rock Club (18+)
27 Washington, DC 9:30 Club
30 Chicago, IL Cabaret MetroMay
04 Seattle, WA Showbox Theatre
07 San Francisco, CA Grand Ballroom
08 Los Angeles, CA El Rey Theatre

9th May is the last day of the Premiership season, so it looks like we might be needing somewhere in LOS ANGELES to watch THE SOCCER. Nice one.

Video by Alex de Campi

Released 15th February 2010 (Digital/7″)

The perfect late Valentine’s gift for the one you loathe.

A. Romance Is Boring

B. Too Many Flesh Suppers

You are invited…

^^^CLICK^^^

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

PRE-ORDER

UK

US

In March of this year we will be undertaking a brief tour of some countries in Mainland Europe. We will be joined on this tour by our true brethren COPY HAHO. I cannot tell you how excited we are to be touring together again. Last time we did we all got Swine Flu and bathed in malibu, so who knows what will happen when we do this ON THE CONTINENT!! It’ll be like a Christmas special of a past it’s best British sitcom. Lock up yr daughters.

These are the dates:
10 Mar Munich (GERMANY), Atomic Cafe
11 Mar Zurich (SWITZERLAND), Club Room
12 Mar St Gallen (SWITZERLAND), Theater Palace
13 Mar Cologne (GERMANY), Gebaude 9
14 Mar Amsterdam (HOLLAND), Melkweg
15 Mar Paris (FRANCE), Le Point Éphémère
17 Mar Hamburg (GERMANY), Molotov
18 Mar Brussels (BELGIUM), Rotonde

Please consult venue websites, etc, for ticketing details.

If we are not playing in a country you live in, I am sorry. I hope we will some time soon. It is not (necessarily) personal.