Welsh indie darlings Los Campesinos! just premiered the video for the title track from their upcoming third album Romance Is Boring, a cheekily savage clip of a Stepford wife beating her trailer trash husband to death with a baseball bat. Now don’t get me wrong, I’m all game for mariticide, but couldn’t they come up with a more whimsical murder weapon than a bat? Haven’t these uber-literate rockers read Roald Dahl’s “Lamb to the Slaughter”?
The video begins with a busty June Cleaver-disciple decorating a chocolate cake while her inattentive husband chugs down brewskies and howls at her and the TV. After crying some thick mascara tears, the wife goes Beatrix Kiddo on her man and bludgeons him to death while their kid watches. As this is an indie rock video, the child is naturally dressed like some sort of glammy kabuki superhero and unperturbed by the violence. Check it out here:
Musically, the song offers adequate twee thrills, combining the band’s propensity for big choruses with screechy guitar interludes. Plus it features their newest member—and lead singer Gareth’s sister—Kim Campesinos on vocals. But the video itself is irritatingly straightforward, not offering anything beyond the familiar love + murder = irony trope. Los Campesinos! write layered, witty songs about the inevitable ennui of romance, but this video is dead on arrival.
What do you think of it? And are you looking forward to the new album Romance Is Boring, out on January 26?
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I like this song. I’m looking forward to this album.
Luv the song
I love love love LC!, but I agree this video is super lazy and kind of insulting to the source material. Did you guys have no say in the final product? I find that hard to believe. Regardless, Romance is Boring is another amazing album from one of the most underrated bands out there. I hope they blow up as a result of it.
I just got done watching the video over at pitchfork, and was shocked at just how terrible it was. Given both the band and the song, I’d expect at least moderately good things from the video. Instead, cleavage and murder. Meh.
Thank god the three songs released so far have been damn fine.
Also, EW is covering this?
Awesome.
I dunno, I liked the video. But then I just watched it for what it was rather than tried to pick it apart.
It’s still Aleks on the vocals, the album was recorded before she left the band. Gareth confirmed it on their twitter, too lazy to actually cite the source mind.