Los Campesinos- Whole Damn Body

There was a point when Los Campesinos appeared ready to be the next big thing, a run of three exceptional albums (We are Beautiful We are Doomed, Romance is Boring and Hello Sadness) had them well positioned critically and as a cult band. But then it all kind of….petered out.

Despite the decline in popularity the band have never really lost what made them such a wonderful emo-indie-punk act in the first place. The emotional sensibility, the humour, the ability to apply meaning to the mundane, the confessional and political have always remained a part of the band’s cannon and continue to do so to this day.

The Whole Damn Body is a brand new short album of previously recorded material from around the time of the Hello Sadness album, and it wonderfully captures the sound and whip smart lyrics which made the band such an underground success during this period.

The sound of the record is typical of Los Camp of that period part 2nd wave emo band, part indie band- a beautiful racket. And they have always possessed an ear for a melody. And such merits remain in tact or are rather recalled on Whole Damn Body.

Albums of offcuts never really bode well for a band and are often associated with bands on a downswing but the material is so good here you really hope that Whole Damn Body injects new life into the career of Los Campesinos because if any band deserve it they do. They work hard, have their hearts in the right place and wear their politics on their sleeve.

If you didn’t get into the band around their prime you could do worse than listening to Whole Damn Body and using it as a launch pad to enjoy those 3 hugely wonderful albums. Romance is Boring is an all time favourite album of mine but this release had me going back and exploring Hello Sadness further and that in itself was well worth it.

Give Whole Damn Body a listen and may be you’ll fall in love with Los Campesinos all over again.

Squarepusher- Feed Me Weird Things

Very few re-releases get recommended on this blog. The re-issue market is often one which is swamped with artist cash-ins and very rarely merits attention. But every so often something special gets re-issued which is more than worth the recommendation and Squarepusher’s Feed Me Weird Things falls into that category.

Originally released on Aphex Twin’s Rephlex Records the album had, like much of Rephlex’s back catalogue, been out of print and unavailable for download or streaming for many years. Which given the quality of the record has been a crying shame.

Feed Me Weird Things is the debut studio album of Jazz, IDM, breakcore and jungle mad scientist Carl Jenkinson a.k.a Squarepusher. In the years since its release the album has gone on to gain mythical and sort after status and there is little wonder as to why, the quality is outstanding. As a record it would be fair to call Feed Me Weird Things one of Squarepusher’s more straightforward releases, though in true 90s IDM fashion nothing here is straightforward. The drums are complex and the production is heavily layered with the end results resembling the musical equivalent of a Jackson Pollock painting. However, compared to some of his later releases this is Jenkinson at his most mainstream and marvellous.

The influence of this album has shone through the ages, inspiring musicians as diverse as Radiohead, Venetian Snares, Bjork and more. It’s impact forced other artist’s to literally change their careers and the fact it has now been re-issued and is yours to stream, download and listen to is a joy worth embracing. 90s nostalgia is alive and well and where better to engage in a bit of backward gazing than with one of the decade’s most influential esoteric albums.