The Beat Surrender

Debate seems to be raging on this release. Some people are calling it a long EP, while others are seeing it as the second Los Campesinos! album in six months, either way at ten tracks and thirty two minutes it could fit into either category, what’s more important is not the classification of it, but how good it is.

There are a couple of really pleasing aspects to this release even before you get into the intricacies of each track. The first is that they haven’t sat back and waited for their debut album to hit the end of year polls, they’ve shown a real appetite for getting back into the studio.

The second thing is that a quick skip through on the first listen and it’s clear this is a more grown up record from Los Campesinos! and by that I mean in both the lyrics which seem to focus more on feelings, relationships, love and loss than the previous long player and also the music which has far more depth to it. Based on these things and how it hangs together I’m classing it as an album by the way!

For me it’s a major development from the debut album, an altogether better record that means they have now released two of the best of 2008 and justifies me including them as one of the bands to watch for this year. On this showing they are only going to get better and better as well.

One thing that never changes with them is that their songs still possess impossibly long titles. Ways To Make It Through The Wall is the classy opener and further on you get Between An Erupting Earth And An Exploding Sky (a really good instrumental interlude) and It’s Never That Easy Though, Is It? (Song For The Other Kurt) (a great track that has violin and guitar combining amongst a tale of loving an ex still and walking into a party to see them kissing someone else).

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