For the past month, Gareth Campesinos has been providing studio updates from Spain, where Los Campesinos! were recording their follow-up to last year’s John Goodmanson-produced LP, Romance Is Boring. By all appearances (read: photos on their blog), the Welsh indie-pop outfit kept hard at work despite the sunny, scenic distractions, as best exemplified by this shot of a xylophone stored adjacent to the hotel pool. As of yesterday’s post, though, their next record — produced once again by Goodmanson — is in the can, awaiting mixing, mastering and other finishing touches before its promised 2011 release. Gareth wrote:
It’s fair to say we are all proud and excited with the results of our last month’s endeavours. I can honestly say the band has never been as close knit and united as we are right now, and I have never enjoyed my band mates’ company (and John Goodmanson of course) as much as this. I think this, our fourth album, is going to display the confidence we now have, and we’re pretty much willing to take on the world.
The lyrics, he elaborated, didn’t take shape until the recording process began: “I’ve always left writing lyrics until the last minute. If I ever sit down and attempt to write a song when I don’t ‘have to’, I feel incredibly pretentious and aware of myself.”
Two new songs said to be on the album include “The Black Bird, The Dark Slope” and “Tiptoe Through The True Bits,” the latter teased to be “a real tearjerker.” As a fan of their last effort, I’m looking forward to hearing their “first [LP] as an 8-piece” shortly.