Los Campesinos!: “We’re a fucking good band, and we do things differently”

Indie legends Los Campesinos! have forged a path to cult status by doing things their own way, and with their new album ‘All Hell’, they’re looking to set an example.

Words: Martyn Young.
Photos: Juliette Boulay.

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“The question of ‘Why does the world need Los Campesinos! in 2024?’ is one we were asking ourselves,” reflects Gareth Campesinos! as the alt-pop legends gear up to return after seven years away. Later on, Gareth alights on perhaps the best explanation. “We’re a fucking good band, and we do things differently.” Indeed, staying true to the spirit and passion established 18 years ago, the flame for Los Campesinos! is burning brighter than ever as the once-cult heroes are capturing a whole new generation of fans while providing salvation and sanctuary for the people who have been with them from the start. ‘All Hell’ represents both a rebirth and validation for a band whose legacy continues to grow. 

The doubt of whether they could do this again after so long away was real, though. “There was a real sentiment of, ‘What do we have to give?’” ponders Gareth with characteristic honesty. “There are loads of people in bands like me, so what can I offer that is different? What does the world get from a Los Campesinos! album? There was a sense of worrying about that for a long time. We realised, hang on, we were always going to do another record. It’s time to stop finding excuses not to do it.” 

As the band examined their place in the world, they began to focus on all the reasons why Los Campesinos! have always been special. They still feel vital. “We realised that there aren’t many bands like us anymore that have been doing it for close to 20 years and, I believe, have avoided being a nostalgia thing,” says Gareth. “We get offered quite a lot of festivals where clearly we’re being booked as a nostalgia act. Turn up, play ‘You! Me! Dancing!’ and bring a glockenspiel, and everyone will have a good time. We’ve resisted that. We’ve always said no to that. We could make a decent money, but we’ve never wanted to be seen as a nostalgia thing.” 

“We could make a decent money, but we’ve never wanted to be seen as a nostalgia thing”

gareth campesinos!

At this point in their career, the band are entirely self-sufficient, which is allowing them to forge an ever closer relationship with their fans – a fanbase that is growing all the time without the band seemingly having to do anything at all to encourage it. “We’ve done this the opposite way around in that we used to have relatively big management, huge record labels, big PR campaigns and marketing teams around us,” explains Gareth. “That’s what it was for the first couple of records. Objectively, we weren’t the commercial success that the people who invested in us wanted us to be. We’ve found ourselves in the situation where we don’t have management. We don’t have PR anymore. We’re doing it ourselves and working directly with people. We are playing the biggest shows we’ve ever played. The UK tour in September is another example of us getting things wrong, in a way, as all the gigs are going to sell out. In Manchester, we’re playing to 1200 people, which will be the biggest UK show we’ve ever done outside of London. It’s testament to the songs that people are getting into them without any marketing push.” 

Gareth charts how people have grown up with the band, from the youthful exuberance and angst of their early albums through to the more mature themes of their last record, 2017’s ‘Sick Scenes’. Their comeback feels like the natural peak within a glorious story arc as the band’s chronicling of modern existence comes to a head. “‘All Hell’ has this grim dystopian worldview of everything is fucking awful,” says Gareth. “It shines a light on the terror of living these days but also the small details and minutiae and glimmers of hope and minor inconveniences that we experience day to day. I hope these are relatable sentiments, and I think that’s always been at the core of why people like LC! – they connect not only with the songs but with us as people as well. We try to be quite approachable and realistic and we try to remove hierarchical structures between band and fans, and that leads to a situation where we have the old heads seeing us for 18 years, people who were maybe into us at the start and drifted away and coming back excited and this new swathe of literally 13/14-year-old kids whose favourite band are Los Campesinos!. It’s nuts.” 

Of course, the secret to really cutting in music is capturing a moment, recognising the feeling that the stars are aligning and capitalising on that with a laser focus. You can see it with Charli XCX’s ‘Brat’, where a previously largely cult concern blows up into a phenomenon. Now, obviously, LC! are operating in a very different world, but the principle of a previously relatively niche but dearly beloved act breaking out into a new sphere of influence and success remains the same. When the band dropped ‘Feast Of Tongues’ and ‘A Psychic Wound’ as the first new music in seven years, it felt like a very big deal. “It felt like a palpable sense of relief that we were back because we’ve been a big part of people’s lives, and the people who like us tend to really, really like us,” says Gareth excitedly. “We’re not resting on our laurels. We’ve come back with a record that in scope and breadth is our biggest.” 

“I’ve never been somebody who writes for pleasure; I write because we’re doing an album, and it’s my responsibility to come up with lyrics”

gareth campesinos!

The expansive quality of ‘All Hell’ is down to the band’s sonic architect, guitarist and producer, Tom Campesinos!. “This one is produced just by Tom, and it’s his vision,” says Gareth. “That allowed us to take the handbrake off and create something that feels big both sonically and in emotional heft. People are ready for that. People like the honesty of our songs and I think that makes us quite easy to hold dear if you’re a fan.” 

While Tom was clear in what he wanted to achieve musically, for the band’s sole lyricist, Gareth, the process of getting back in the groove after so long away is all down to the pressure he puts on himself. “Tom writes music all the time for lots of different things, so he knows he’s capable, and I have the utmost faith in Tom,” says Gareth. “For me, because I’ve never been somebody who writes for pleasure; I write because we’re doing an album, and it’s my responsibility to come up with lyrics for this album. I hadn’t written a song since summer 2016. I trust myself to be able to do it. A part of it is ego absolutely, but in the back of my head, I know that when it comes to it, Gareth, you will do it. It’s like the substitute is coming off the bench with five minutes to go and knows they’re going to score the winning goal. They back themselves to do it. I back myself in the same way. It doesn’t mean there aren’t moments when I lie awake at night saying fucking hell, Gareth, you have a week to write four songs. I think I’m capable, and I think I’m good at it.” 

“I feel like the standards for what people accept as good lyricism are quite low,” laughs Gareth as he analyses his lyrics on the album. It is true, though, that nobody writes quite like Gareth. Unflinchingly raw and brutally honest with a hyper-resonant focus on the minutiae of modern life. “It’s ended up being an album that I’m very proud of lyrically. I struggle to talk in bests, but it’s certainly my favourite,” he smiles. Perhaps it’s his favourite as it feels like the ultimate realisation of all of his long-time lyrical observations and preoccupations. It takes in really beautiful wordplay as well as a myriad of typically esoteric references, like the new-fangled football statistic XG, the pure moment of fleeting joy when you come across a £2 coin on the pool table and the cynical practices of some aspects of the modern music industry and some of its more shameless musical practitioners. 

“This might sound really unambitious, but with each record, I just try to perfect what I do,” laughs Gareth as he reflects on the new album’s themes. “When I’m asked who influenced you, I say I try not to be influenced by anyone as all I want to do is write the best Los Campesinos! song. When I think about our back catalogue in terms of lyrics, what I try to do is world-building. There exists this universe of Los Campesinos!. It’s growing outwards as I do touch upon new themes and new ideas, but it’s also growing upwards, and that’s why there’s so much stuff that’s self-referential where I’m referencing LC! songs in new LC! songs. That could be seen as being self-indulgent, and I agree it is, but I’m just trying to build this world of LC!. That’s what I think is happening in this album. I’ve always tried to do the big picture/small picture thing at the same time. These all-encompassing sentiments of the human experience or what it’s like growing up or what it is to be the age I am now living in the world as it is, but viewed through a hyper-specific lens with references to football, drinking, sex and the everyday monotony that we experience. That’s the only way that I feel capable of vocalising my vision of the world.”

It feels like something of an unspoken truth, but when you’ve been away for so long, there’s always an element of feeling like you have something to prove. Feeling like you’re coming back to face down all of the contenders to your throne. “There is a competitive edge for me. It rears its ugly head from time to time,” grins Gareth. There is no doubt, though, that he’s ready to fight for the cause of LC! and their stature within the UK indie sphere. “We’re making a style of music that’s never been cool, but we’re very good at it, and it’s emotional and worthwhile, something people can get swept away with. The way that we attempt to cut away all the music industry bullshit and not engage with that is different to most bands at a similar and much higher level. We’re a band that there is a space for. There is an element of wanting to come back and be like, this is how you fucking do it. The songs are good, but the band is trying to do something worthwhile instead of being tied to the usual rigmarole of a new album campaign, marketing campaign and the same bullshit sound bites.” 

Despite the combativeness that still rages within, Gareth demurs from mentioning anyone specifically, but with allusions on album highlight ‘Long Throes’ to “The punks on the playlist, are crooning for kindness”, it’s up to the listener to form their own judgement. “I was going to say I’m too mature, but I’m probably more cowardly to mention bands by name, whereas 15 years ago, I’d gladly have singled people out and tried to start beef,” he admits. “Since we released our last record in 2017, there are some bands who have released 4 or 5 records in that time and fair play, you’ve worked really hard, but you’ve said absolutely fucking nothing. What have you done, apart from make your manager wealthy?” 

“There is an element of wanting to come back and be like, this is how you fucking do it”

gareth campesinos!

The theme of altruism and the importance of finding new ways to do things outside of the established mechanisms of the music industry is something that has become ever more important to Los Campesinos! and can be seen in their progressive attitude to ticket pricing, equality and accessibility. They try to directly cater to the fans to give them the best possible experience, whether that’s with affordable pricing, transparency with stage times and curfews or just a general attitude to do what they think is right. “It’s important to us,” says Gareth passionately. “I appreciate it’s not important to everyone and a lot of bands think it’s not for them to worry about. They see it as a venue or promoter issue. In terms of ticket pricing, we’ve frozen ticket prices at 20 quid and offered low-income tickets. People don’t forget. People will remember when I was struggling and didn’t have much cash I was able to go and see Los Campesinos! for a fiver. When they’ve got a job and are doing a bit better they’ll come to a gig, pay full price and drop £50 on merch. Cynically, you can think of it like that. 

“For our September shows, we’ve already announced the end times. You can view that in two ways. It’s great for fans. It’s great to give people that heads-up. I’m aware our fanbase is generally younger now, in which case they might need to tell their parents what time to pick them up, or they’re older and need to arrange childcare. Also, if you want to view it cynically, you are telling people travelling is not an excuse. You can get your tickets early. I think we’re seeing that reflected in the early sales. This is something that actively can be done to make it easier for people to go to gigs and venues to make money. It’s a no-brainer to me. It won’t get taken on widely because it’s reliant on bands standing up to their managers and booking agents. There will be some who can’t be fucked and won’t want to keep ticket prices low because their percentage will be less. It’s really easy, so I don’t think we deserve any credit. I’d prefer if people asked bands, do you think you could do this, and if not why not? I hope fans will start to see what we do as the normal thing, and start questioning other bands. If you look at the venues we’re playing and see other bands playing the same venue and charging £10-£15 more, the question has to be, why are you doing that? Does your profit margin need to be that high at the expense of pricing out fans?” 

The strong commitment to their fans while resisting industry pressures is one of many reasons why LC! are so beloved, but with a new younger generation of fans falling for them comes new pressures of how to navigate devotion in the hyper-social age. One of the most memorable lines on the new album describes the “Parasocial puppet masters”, and the changing dynamic between bands and fans is something Gareth, in particular, is forced to contemplate. “I’m not sure about that,” he admits. “That’s something I think we’re going to find out really soon. Historically, we have a really good vibe where, after the show, we’d hang out at the merch desk with people. We’ve always tried to be super approachable with DM’s and replying to comments. We’re incredibly grateful for this new young fanbase, but the way they communicate and the concept of what is appropriate is different. Somebody will message me and have a picture of me as their profile picture, which really freaks me out. They’ll be like, ‘Hi bestie!’ and ask me a question, and I’m like, I’m old enough to be your dad’s age. Why are you talking to me like this, and how could I possibly communicate with you in a way that’s not weird? We’ll see more of that on this tour coming up. I’m not sure how comfortable I’ll be coming to the merch desk afterwards because we have found more and more that people are a bit weird and say things which are strange. They take a lot more interest in our personal lives than ever before. It’s flattering that people care that much and want to know about us, but also, it’s none of your business. It’s not necessary that you know this.” 

That’s the thing, though – people care about Los Campesinos!, people have always cared about Los Campesinos!, and their time in the relative wilderness has only reinforced that. With a stunning comeback album, a blossoming new and even more devoted and passionate audience and a desire to enact real and meaningful change in the whole music landscape, it seems that actually we very much do need Los Campesinos in 2024. 

“If there’s a wave, we want to ride it,” enthuses Gareth. “We want this momentum to keep going. We want people to feel the same excitement that we do. It’s a really good time to be an LC! fan. After 18 years still doing this we’re never going to take this for granted and we’ll do everything we can to keep the party going.” ■

Taken from the August 2024 issue of Dork. Los Campesinos!’ album ‘All Hell’ is out 19th July.