Hey! Free download of the 'HON,Y...' DEMOS for you
Plus the latest on our North America shows, and a raffle of LC! rarities to raise money for Palestine.
Hello from the band Los Campesinos!. So much coming up in these next months, I promise you. We’re easing in gently today…
Often with these mailers it feels like we’re just asking you for money. To buy gig tickets or merch or vinyl or whatever, and though I appreciate these are things you largely want to buy, it’s nice to write to you with a small gift. Here’s a free download of the original ‘Hold On Now, Youngster…’ demo sessions, recorded in Cardiff prior to jetting off to Canada to record the album back in 2008.
Maybe a fun listen! Featuring some of your faves from before the record, on the record and a couple that never made it to the record (or a professional studio recording) at all. Bonus is the above, truly awful, photo of us in the studio in Trenton, Ontario, with producer Dave Newfeld, taken for an NME ‘In The Studio’ feature, during the proper album recording sessions.
Raffle for Palestine
We’re raffling a number of rare LC! items from our personal archives, to raise much needed funds for Palestinian causes. Click through the link below to purchase your raffle tickets!
All money raised will be donated, we will cover any transactional costs incurred, so if you purchase a £5 virtual ticket, all £5 of that will go to the causes. Money raised will be split between organisations including Palestine Children’s Relief Fund and Feminine Hygiene Kits for Gaza.
We remain deeply saddened and angered by the continued aggression in Gaza. In terms of the historic oppression of the Palestinian people and the settler colonisation they have been subjected to for decades, and the ongoing ethnic cleansing being carried out by the IDF. We are also repulsed by the complicity of the UK’s politicians, and our nation’s lickspittle media. Los Campesinos! stand in opposition to any and all persecution, including Antisemitism and Islamophobia.
North America Openers Announced
You know you can rely on us for impeccable openers. This playlist is evidence of that and so is the addition of Short Fictions and Fresh to our run of dates in North America this coming June.
Short Fictions released one of our favourite LPs of last year. A mix of power-pop, screamo and 5th-wave-adjacent-emo. They’re getting things started for us on the east coast and into the mid-west.
🎧 Oblivion Will Own Me and Death Alone Will Love Me (Void Filler)
So pleased to be able to bring UK punx Fresh over with us for 4 huge West Coast shows. Let me tell you America, if you like our accents you’re gonna LOVE theirs!
If you’re into what you hear of Fresh, and based over here, check out the dates for their upcoming UK tour.
Tickets for these shows are ON SALE NOW. Except Brooklyn and Chicago ‘cause they’re SOLD OUT, baby. Los Angeles flew out too, so we’ve upgraded to a bigger venue, the beautiful Belasco. I’m telling you: every one of these shows will sell out (except maybe Cleveland, but we trust you guys to pull through for us). We get a real buzz from seeing the tickets fly out, so if you can, please buy early!
15 June - Warsaw, Brooklyn NY (SOLD OUT)
16 June - Paradise Rock Club, Boston MA (TIX)
17 June - Union Transfer, Philadelphia PA (TIX)
18 June - Black Cat, Washington DC (TIX)
20 June - The Opera House, Toronto ON (TIX)
21 June - The Roxy, Cleveland OH (TIX)
22 June - Thalia Hall, Chicago IL (SOLD OUT)
24 June - The Crocodile, Seattle WA (TIX)
25 June - Aladdin Theater, Portland OR (TIX)
27 June - Great American Music Hall, San Francisco CA (TIX)
28 June - The Belasco, Los Angeles CA (TIX)
Fan Question
Got a question for LC!? Tilly did, and we have the answers!
Tilly: "What's your favourite song to perform live?”
Gareth - Baby I Got The Death Rattle is up there for me. A theatrical song to perform, and one where I can have fun with my vocals. Two of my favourite things within our sets are the moments the band is playing hard, but I’m not singing so I can stand back and enjoy watching them, and when the crowd is going all-in singing along. This has both!
Jason - Overall I feel that NO BLUES was actually the pinnacle of my drumming, and maybe my best is Avocado, Baby. I feel like this is unlike any other LC! song drum-wise and has a unique feel to it. The big floor tom into the linear drum breaks (when I don't get the panic and mess up) are my favourite sections.
Kim - I Just Sighed is a really fun song for me to play live. It always feels like a crowd favourite and I get to play the flute and keys as well as sing and do a big gutsy scream which is my absolute fave thing to do.
Matt - The Black Bird, The Dark Slope has always been a personal favourite from Hello Sadness, and after we started playing it more recently in sets it’s fast become my absolute favourite to play live. The huge build-up in the middle and the payoff after never fails to put a huge grin on my face every single time.
Neil - I scanned through some more recent set lists to jog my memory. Three that stick out are Baby I Got The Death Rattle, Here’s To The Fourth Time! and For Flotsam. I think For Flotsam edges it for me.
Rob - My favourite song to play live is probably The Sea Is A Good Place To Think of The Future. Partly because it was the first LC! song I learned to play when I first joined, and partly because it’s probably still my favourite track. But also because I get to do slightly different things on it. I sing backing vocals with Kim and play high hat in the verses, and it often feels more physical and expressive than I know how to be on keys. It’s always towards the end of the set too, so sometimes in the big, nervy gigs it would feel like we were almost home and dry when we played it.
Tom - The Black Bird, The Dark Slope! Recently resurrected and sounding the best it ever has
Wow it’s barely two weeks until our Leeds and London shows. So pumped for these. We’ve got band practice this weekend and next and I’m equally excited to both hang out with mates and to blow away the cobwebs and get warmed up for our first shows for close to 18 months. I suppose I’m obligated to tell you to GET YOUR REQUESTS IN, down in the comments below. If you’re attending the shows we’ll be publishing details on stage times etc next week so you can be as well prepared as possible.
The next newsletter will feature an interview with Gareth (not gonna lie, it’s me typing in the third person right now) about the band’s current approach to touring and playing live. If you have any questions about that subject in particular, dump ‘em in the comments!
We’ve got DOOMED sweatshirts and Hello Sadness long sleeves back in stock, in all sizes up to 5XL. New range of merch landing soon, so if there are any current shirts you want from the store, get them bought soon!
Despite making it such a huge part of my personality for a long time, I’ve been out of the Football Manager game for 5+ years. Really thinking about getting back into it, but not sure I have the intelligence to cope with all the new features. Any tips for reacclimatising?
My first beloved album of 2024 was Activator by Gerycz/Powers/Rolin, oh and then I remembered this incredible KLF Chill Out-esque release from Phil Geraldi, also I’m back listening to Deathconsciousness every single day.
Speak soon, see ya in the comments!
I would give the world to hear This is a flag, there is no wind live
Would *love* to hear Renato Dall'Ara live if there's any chance of that - travelling over from Ireland for the London show, can't wait!!