Biography
Los Campesinos! are a Welsh indie pop band from Cardiff, formed in early 2006 at Cardiff University.[1] Early members included Neil Turner, Ellen Waddell and Ollie Briggs, joined that year by Tom Bromley, Gareth Paisey, Harriet Coleman and Aleksandra Berditchevskaia.[1] The members adopted a shared stage surname, a practice they discontinued in 2024.[1]
Their first gig was in May 2006 at a student union club night, a MySpace demo won them a support slot for Broken Social Scene that August, and they signed to Wichita Recordings in November.[1] Though first labelled twee, they later moved toward a darker sound, and the band has said it has always sat on the periphery of the scenes people place it in.[1][2] Frontman and lyricist Gareth Paisey has described his songwriting as making himself the butt of the joke, and cites The Mountain Goats as an influence on his themed song series.[2] Their debut album, Hold On Now, Youngster..., arrived in 2008.[3] The band has not disbanded, and released the album All Hell in 2024.[1]
References
- Wikipedia: Los Campesinos! — Formation, lineup and history
- Get Alternative: Letting All Hell Break Loose With Los Campesinos — Band members on scenes and songwriting
- Shepherd Express: Los Campesinos! Shout World — The debut album and the band's roots