Having toured America several times, becoming a surprise success story in the process, Los Campesinos! return with their full-length follow-up to ‘We Are Beautiful, We Are Doomed’.

Recorded while the band were Stateside, ‘Romance Is Boring’ is another step up for the Cardiff seven-piece; avoiding the shoutier, brattier elements of debut ‘Hold On Now, Youngster…’, the band bring to their latest effort a much darker atmosphere, with similarly desperate lyrics.

The latter especially is likely to become a favourite for serious young boys and girls, headphones clamped on for those long cold walks. Excellent.

8/10

Words by Anne Hollowday

–

Hear ‘Romance Is Boring’ in full on ClashMusic.com from 25th January.