To All Hell And Back With Los Campesinos!
Los Campesinos! have always been the band that never quite reached the heights of mainstream fame but have held a special place in the hearts of those who stumbled upon their frenetic, heartfelt sound. All Hell, their seventh studio album, feels like a long-awaited letter from an old friend, overflowing with the all of the motormouthed exuberance you’d expect after a seven-year hiatus.
Released on July 19, 2024, via Heart Swells, All Hell is the band's first legit album in seven years. It’s clear from the get-go that the wait was worth it. Recorded across three separate sessions between Frome, Somerset, and Cardiff, Wales, from October 2023 to February 2024, the album carries a sense of meticulous care. Producer and guitarist Tom Bromley's mantra, "It's ready when it's good and we're happy with it," resonates throughout the polished production, a sound that harkens back their 2013 gem, No Blues.
The first thing you notice is how clean and refined everything sounds. This isn't to say the album lacks the raw, emotional edge that defines Los Campesinos! Rather, it feels like a matured version of their earlier work—a band that has grown up but hasn’t lost its bite. Bromley has outdone himself, creating an album that feels both fresh and comfortingly familiar.
Gareth Paisey continues to wield words like a lyrical swordsman. His macabre tongue twisters hit those elusive sweet spots for elder millennials and Gen Zers alike. He crafts a narrative that’s both deeply personal and universally relatable, a tricky balance that Paisey handles with aplomb. You can feel the band's history seeping through the lyrics, with allusions to past albums that longtime fans will appreciate.
All Hell has no shortage of standout tracks. "kms," sung by keyboardist and heart of the band Kim Paisey, provides musical levity (that guitar solo!) while delivering lyrical hammer blows (“No lie, I would lay down my life/
For any rat in the road”). It’s the kind of song that makes you want to dance and cry simultaneously—a true Los Campesinos! specialty.
Then there's "Feast of Tongues," an early single that slowly builds to an anthemic, primal scream of a finale, which is something of a theme on All Hell. “Feast” is cathartic, raw, and everything you want from a song that demands to be played at full volume.
The album opener, "The Coin-Op Guillotine," is perhaps one of the purest distillations of the Midwest emo twinkly guitar sound that indie bands have been chasing since American Football first called it quits. It’s a perfect starting point, immediately drawing you into the album’s emotional and sonic landscape.
Listening to All Hell, it's clear why Los Campesinos! deserve to be one of the biggest bands in the world. They’ve consistently delivered music that feels like a secret between the band and their fans, an intimate experience that’s both deeply personal and widely relatable. This album isn’t just another in a long line of great LPs, it’s an encapsulation of the thoughts, feelings, and all of the joy and pain that comes with growing older but not growing up.
In a world where music often feels disposable, All Hell is a reminder of why we fall in love with bands in the first place. It shows the power of taking your time, of not rushing art for the sake of deadlines. Los Campesinos! have given us an album that’s worth every second of the seven-year wait, and for that, we’re grateful.
All Hell proves you don’t need to be a household name to create music that’s timeless and impactful. Los Campesinos! continue to craft the soundtrack of our lives, and we're all better for it.
