Los Campesinos!: We Are Beautiful, We Are Doomed

Los Campesinos magnificently prove that youth

isn't always wasted on the young: We Are Beautiful, We Are Doomed is the British band's

second album this year, following up the unstoppably energetic, endlessly

entertaining Hold On Now Youngster. Unsurprisingly, it's mostly more of the

same—which in this case is a high compliment. The two releases will

inevitably be compared, and the edge goes to Youngster, but just barely. Beautiful is the product of

sessions with producer John Goodmanson (Sleater-Kinney, Blonde Redhead) that

were aiming to get some good B-sides together, but clearly the songs and more

muscular recording couldn't be relegated to that fate; instead, they're being

released as a limited-edition deluxe CD/DVD/badge/booklet set—charmingly

perfect for a band obsessed with K Records' twee-yet-rough-edged DIY style.

But all of that is less important than the songs,

of course, and this new pack is smart, immediate, and anthemic in the way only

bedroom-pop fanatics can muster. The title track is one of the band's best yet:

It's a layered, glowing display of that intersection between total confidence

and utter self-doubt. Singer Gareth Campesino (no, that isn't his real last

name) is an ace wordsmith at just 22, and the song climaxes with the

sing-along, "We kid ourselves there's future in the fucking / but there is no

fucking future." There might not be for Los Campesinos—energy this bright

can only burn for so long—but hopefully it'll remain this amazing while

it lasts.