Sick Scenes

Sick Scenes is the sixth studio album by Welsh rock band Los Campesinos!. The album was released on 24 February 2017 by Wichita Recordings.[1] The album was produced by John Goodmanson and the band's guitarist Tom Campesinos! at a studio in the Fridão parish of Amarante, Portugal.[2] It is the band's first album to feature bassist Matt Campesinos!, who joined the group in 2014.

Sick Scenes
Studio album by
Los Campesinos!
Released24 February 2017
GenreIndie rock
Length40:19
LabelWichita Recordings
ProducerJohn Goodmanson, Tom Campesinos!
Los Campesinos! chronology
No Blues
(2013)		 Sick Scenes
(2017)
Singles from Sick Scenes
  1. "I Broke Up in Amarante"
    Released: 10 November 2016
  2. "5 Flucloxacillin"
    Released: 16 January 2017
  3. "The Fall of Home"
    Released: 14 February 2017
  4. "Renato Dall'Ara (2008)"
    Released: 28 April 2017

Background

After releasing their fifth album No Blues in 2013, the members of Los Campesinos! all got full-time jobs and put the band on a hiatus of sorts. When they realized it was the ten-year anniversary of their formation in 2016, they began discussing the possibility of a sixth album. No Blues had fulfilled their contract with Turnstile, their previous label, and as a result they decided to self-finance their next record for the first time in their careers. Sick Scenes was recorded over four and a half weeks in Fridão, a small village outside of Amarante, Portugal. As a result of their commitment to day jobs, many members of the group could only record sporadically. Like most of their work, music and arrangements were left to guitarist Tom Campesinos!, with frontman Gareth Campesinos! contributing his lyrics only when it came time to record the album.[3]

Critical reception
Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Metacritic74/100[4]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[5]
Record Collector[6]
The Skinny[7]
Uncut[4]
Under the Radar[4]
Exclaim![4]

Sick Scenes received positive reviews from critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream publications, it received an average score of 74, based on 16 reviews.[4]

Emily Mackay from The Guardian felt the album "[balances] a warmer, mature sound with a still-angry energy."[8] Ryan Dombal of Pitchfork Media was positive in his assumption of the album, describing it as "a love note to aging indie idealism and to those who've reveled in their careening pop-punk singalongs, scathing neuroses, and charmingly specific soccer references."[9] Tim Sendra of Allmusic considered the album overproduced and lacking, but still retaining several elements of the sound of their earlier days: "It all makes for an unbalanced listening experience, one that only the most dedicated Los Campesinos! fans will likely want to undertake."[5] The A.V. Club's Alex McLevy also found the album inconsistent, but enjoyable, commenting, "If Sick Scenes doesn’t necessarily cohere as a whole, the individual songs are strong enough that it also doesn’t really matter."[10]

Track listing

All lyrics are written by Gareth David; all music is composed by Tom Bromley.

No.TitleLength
1."Renato Dall'Ara (2008)"2:48
2."Sad Suppers"3:37
3."I Broke Up in Amarante"3:14
4."A Slow, Slow Death"4:01
5."The Fall of Home"2:57
6."5 Flucloxacillin"3:09
7."Here's to the Fourth Time!"3:45
8."For Whom the Belly Tolls"3:24
9."Got Stendhal's"5:27
10."A Litany/Heart Swells"3:27
11."Hung Empty"4:30
Total length:40:19

Personnel

Credits adapted from the album's liner notes.

Los Campesinos!

  • Gareth Campesinos! – vocals
  • Neil Campesinos! – guitar
  • Tom Campesinos! – guitar, brass arrangements
  • Rob Campesinos! – vocals, guitar, keyboards
  • Kim Campesinos! – vocals, keyboards
  • Jason Campesinos! – drums, percussion
  • Matt Campesinos! – bass, vocals

Additional musicians

Production

Design

Charts
Chart (2017) Peak
position
Scottish Albums (OCC)[11] 67
UK Albums (OCC)[12] 83

References
  1. Sam Sodomsky (10 November 2016). "Los Campesinos! Announce New Album Sick Scenes, Share New Track: Listen". Pitchfork Media. Retrieved 10 November 2016.
  2. Murphy, Sarah. "Los Campesinos! Announce 'Sick Scenes' LP, Share New Single". Exclaim!. Retrieved 11 November 2016.
  3. Rob Hakimian (24 February 2017). "A conversation with Gareth Campesinos!: "Sick Scenes is very much a record about being confused and uncertain... it may be our most doomed."". The 405. Retrieved 28 February 2017.
  4. "Reviews for Sick Scenes by Los Campesinos! - Metacritic". Metacritic. Retrieved 24 February 2017.
  5. Sendra, Tim. "Sick Scenes - Los Campesinos!". AllMusic. Retrieved 23 February 2017.
  6. Kennedy, Jake. "Sick Scenes -Record Collector Magazine". Record Collector. Retrieved 23 February 2017.
  7. Ogden, Chris. "Los Campesinos! - Sick Scenes album review: The Skinny". The Skinny. Retrieved 23 February 2017.
  8. Mackay, Emily (26 February 2017). "Los Campesinos!: Sick Scenes review – undimmed indie energy". The Guardian. Retrieved 28 February 2017.
  9. "Los Campesinos!: Sick Scenes". Pitchfork Media. 1 March 2017. Retrieved 1 March 2017.
  10. McLevy, Alex (25 February 2017). "Maturing rather than mellowing with age suits Los Campesinos!". The A.V. Club. Retrieved 28 February 2017.
  11. "Official Scottish Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 4 March 2017.
  12. "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 4 March 2017.
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