img src= http://www.chromewaves.net/images/interface/20070809losCampesinos.jpg title= Los Campesinos! by Frank Yang class= blogPhoto Welsh ragamuffin collective A href= http://www.loscampesinos.com/ target= new title= Los Campesinos! Los Campesinos! /a have had a festival-filled Summer of 2007, what with playing Glastonbury in their native UK last month and Hillside and Lollapalooza more locally and recently, so a cozy, free show at the Horseshoe on Tuesday night almost certainly qualified as a change of scenery. Based on the profile of their recent shows and their signing to local powerhouse label A href= http://www.arts-crafts/ target= new title= A C Arts Crafts /a in North America, the curious were out in full force to see what the hubub was about, but before that they had to get through the A href= http://www.naturesmouth.com/ target= new title= Germans Germans /a . br / br / Hailing not from the Rhineland but right here in Hogtown, Germans recall the glory days of college rock - that'd be the early '90s - blending the angular pop of A href= http://www.myspace.com/pavementrock target= new title= Pavement Pavement /a with the hollered punk of early a href= http://www.superchunk.com target= new title= Superchunk Superchunk /a and the noise squalls of A href= Http://www.sonicyouth.com Target= new title= Sonic Youth Sonic Youth /a . Striking a near-perfect balance between undeniable melodic hookiness and discordant, in your face abrasiveness, they're like a frosted mini wheat of indie rock goodness. Constantly swapping instruments as well as passing around parts of a second drum kit (which wasn't superfluous at all but added huge weight to their sound), the six Germans showcased a lot of material from last year's A href= http://search.insound.com/search/showrelease.jsp?from=90804 p=INS35906 target= new title= Cape Fear i Cape Fear /i /a full-length and just generally rocked the house in, dare I say, blitzkrieg style? Wholly impressive. Do not fear these Germans. They're playing a double-header on Saturday, playing the a href= http://www.allcaps.ca/ target= new title= All Caps ALL CAPS! /a outdoor party in Dufferin Park in the afternoon ( a href= http://www.eyeweekly.com/eye/issue/issue_08.09.07/music/lead.php target= new title= eye vs ALL CAPS i eye /i /a has more info) and the Mod Club that evening opening up for A href= http://www.thewombats.co.uk/ target= new title= Wombats The Wombats /a . And also check out the video for I Am The Teacher below - also the awesome. br / br / It's easy to have preconceptions about what a seven-piece, co-ed band of youngsters whose band name includes a mandatory exclamation mark and who, furthermore, have all taken on said exclamation as their surname sounds like. And in Los Camposinos!' case, those broad strokes are fairly bang on but don't tell the whole story. Yes, they're ridiculously cute and energetic and their sound is awash in instrumentation, shoutalongs and hand claps, but beneath the surface it's not at all random or chaotic - I was pretty impressed at how tight and meticulously arranged all the parts and vocals in their songs were. There is a real method and skill to their madness. Lead Campesino! Gareth's voice and singing style is a little too frantic and histrionic for my tastes and reminds me more than a bit of a href= http://www.ofmontreal.net target= new title= Of Montreal Kevin Barnes /a but that's me - those attributes might well sell him to someone else. br / br / With only a six-song EP to their name, the band presumably interjected some new material amidst the songs from A href= http://www.amazon.ca/Sticking-Fingers-Into-Sockets-Campensinos/dp/B000Q66HUU/ref=sr_1_2/701-9114087-0241937?ie=UTF8 s=music qid=1186460690 sr=8-2 target= new title= STicking Fingers Into Sockets i Sticking Fingers Into Sockets /i /a , a Pavement cover and profuse thanks to everyone in attendance for showing up. Regardless of how you feel about their style of sugar-buzz, kitchen sink pop - and I'm a little worn out on the style, nothing personal - it was hard to dislike these kids, so cute, bright-eyed and earnest they were. But I suspect they're best enjoyed in EP-sized dose -a full-length might well be too hazardous to someone's health. br / br / A href= http://www.nowtoronto.com/issues/2007-08-02/music_fivequestions2.php target= new title= NOW vs Los Campesinos i NOW /i /a asks five questions of bassist Ellen Campesino! and A href= http://www.chartattack.com/damn/2007/07/2707.cfm target= new title= Chart vs Los Campesino i Chart /i /a chats with guitarist Neil. A href= http://www.eyeweekly.com/daily/?p=748 target= new title= eye vs Los Campesinos! i eye /i /a also has a review of the show. br / br / strong Photos: /strong A href= http://www.chromewaves.net/concertPhotos.php?concertID=504 y=2007 title= Los Campesinos!, Germans @ The Horseshoe - August 7, 2007 Los Campesinos!, Germans @ The Horseshoe - August 7, 2007 /a br / strong MP3: /strong A href= http://www.loscampesinos.com/downloads/DontTellMeToDoTheMaths.mp3 title= Don't Tell Me To Do The Maths Los Campesinos! - Don't Tell Me To Do The Maths /a br / strong MP3: /strong A href= http://www.loscampesinos.com/downloads/WeThrowPartiesYouThrowKnives.mp3 title= We Throw Parties, You Throw Knives Los Campesinos! - We Throw Parties, You Throw Knives /a br / strong MP3: /strong A href= http://teamclermont.com/mp3/Germans-IAmTheTeacher.mp3 title= I Am The Teacher Germans - I Am The Teacher /a br / strong MP3: /strong A href= http://www.chromewaves.net/mp3/Germans-TigerVacuumBotle.mp3 title= Tiger Vacuum Bottle Germans - Tiger Vacuum Bottle /a br / strong Video: /strong A href= http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fTbj0Wyx12Q target= new title= We Throw Parties, You Throw Knives Los Campesinos! - We Throw Parties, You Throw Knives (YouTube) /a br / strong Video: /strong A href= http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nj6SO_yKMe8 target= new title= You! Me! Dancing! Los Campesinos! - You! Me! Dancing! (YouTube) /a br / strong Video: /strong A href= http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S125-luCnCk target= new title= I Am The Teacher Germans - I Am The Teacher (YouTube) /a br / Strong MySpace: /strong A href= http://www.myspace.com/loscampesinos target= new title= Los Campesinos! Los Campesinos! /a br / strong MySpace: /strong A href= http://www.myspace.com/germans target= new title= Germans Germans /a br / br / A href= http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=12568831 target= new title= NPR vs GLS NPR /a has got a World Cafe session with A href= http://www.greatlakeswimmers.com target= new title= GLS Great Lake Swimmers /a available to stream. A href= http://www.chartattack.com/damn/2007/08/0706.cfm target= new title= Chart vs GLS i Chart /i /a also reports that the band is soliciting travel video clips from fans for use in a video for the band's Passenger Song , the next single from a href= http://www.amazon.ca/gp/redirect.html?ie=UTF8 location=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.amazon.ca%2FOngiara-Great-Lake-Swimmers%2Fdp%2FB000OHZKB8%3Fie%3DUTF8%26s%3Dmusic%26qid%3D1175559499%26sr%3D8-1 tag=chromewavesne-20 linkCode=ur2 camp=15121 creative=330641 target= new title= Ongiara i Ongiara /i /a img src= http://www.assoc-amazon.ca/e/ir?t=chromewavesne-20 amp;l=ur2 amp;o=15 width= 1 height= 1 border= 0 alt= style= border:none !important; margin:0px !important; / . They're back home for a show at the Phoenix on September 29 with a href= http://www.ohbijou.com target= new title= Ohbijou Ohbijou /a as support. a href= http://www.thestar.com/entertainment/article/244525 target= new title= Toronto Star vs Ohbijou i The Toronto Star /i /a has a profile of Ohbijou, who are playing a free show at Harbourfront Centre tomorrow night. br / br / a href= http://www.westword.com/2007-08-09/music/jason-isbell-takes-the-wheel target= new title= Westword vs Jason Isbell i Denver Westword /i /a asks a href= Http://www.jasonisbell.com target= new title= Jason Isbell Jason Isbell /a about leaving a href= http://www.drivebytruckers.com target= new title= DBT Drive-By Truckers /a . Jason Isbell answers. a href= http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=12607851 target= new title= NPR vs Jason Isbell NPR /a has got a World Cafe session with Isbell available too. They're everywhere, those NPR folks. br / br / A href= http://jam.canoe.ca/Music/Artists/W/Wilco/2007/08/09/4404560.html target= new title= Winnipeg Sun vs Wilco i The Winnipeg Sun /i /a talks to Nels Cline of a href= http://www.wilcoworld.net Target= new title= Wilco Wilco /A . Cline will be in Guelph doing the solo thing at their jazz festival on September 8. br / br / A href= http://www.pitchforkmedia.com/article/news/44737-jens-lekman-talks-ikortedalai-haircuts-steely-dan target= new title= PF vs Jens Lekman Pitchfork /a parses the press release for a href= Http://www.jenslekman.com target= new title= Jens Lekman Jens Lekman's /a forthcoming i Night Falls Over Kortadela /i , out September 5 in Europe and October 9 in North America. br / br / A href= http://www.eyeweekly.com/eye/issue/issue_08.09.07/music/meet.php target= new title= eye vs ARS i eye /i /a says hey, whassup to a href= http://www.aurevoirsimone.com target= new title= ARS Au Revoir Simone /a , in town at Lee's Palace on August 15. br / br / Shows? Sure. A href= http://www.marissanadler.com target= new title= Marissa Nadler Marissa Nadler's /a September 7 show has been moved from the Tranzac to Sneaky Dee's and will no longer be an early gig. Booking issues, dontcha know. Also, A href= http://www.carolynmark.com/ target= new title= Carolyn Mark Carolyn Mark /a is at the Tranzac on September 28, A href= Http://www.reginaspektor.com target= new title= REgina Spektor Regina Spektor /a is in town for a show at the Kool Haus on October 11, electronic act A href= http://www.unkle.com/ target= new title= UNKLE UNKLE /a tries to translate to a live performance October 19 at Lee's Palace, A href= http://www.enon.tv/ target= new title= Enon Enon /a at Sneaky Dee's on October 22 and Portland's A href= http://www.thethermals.com/ target= new title= The Thermals Thermals /a are at the Horseshoe on October 27. br / br / A href= http://www.avclub.com/content/interview/joss_whedon target= new title= AV Club vs Joss Whedon The AV Club /a talks to i Buffy /i -meister A href= http://whedonesque.com/ target= new title= Joss Whedon Joss Whedon /a about making the shift from screenwriter to comics scribe and A href= http://www.darkhorse.com/profile/profile.php?sku=14-115 target= new title= Buffy season 8 i Buffy /i season eight /a . br / br / Anyone need or got a lift to Kingston for A href= http://www.wolfeislandmusicfest.com target= new title= Wolfe Island Wolfe Island /a this weekend? Drop me a line. ...read full story