Cardiff Indie-rock band Los Campesinos! have just been the subject of a charity covers release, with a number of artists getting together to cover some of the band’s most popular songs. Released by indie label Heavenly Creature Records last Friday, the compilation has 28 tracks. Artists involved include Strange New Places (described as “a Belfast-based band of right-on radicals”) and How I Became Invisible (“trans punk space emo“) making the covers for the album.
The proceeds will be going to the charity Gendered Intelligence, an organisation established back in 2008 which aims to “increase understandings of gender diversity and improve the lives of trans people”. On its first day after being released, the compilation raised over £2,000. If you’re interested in making a donation, or even just having a listen, you can look here on Bandcamp.
Los Campesinos! noted their appreciation of the release, saying “Thank you to Heavenly Creature Records and the artists for raising so much money for such an important org. If you’ve not picked it up yet then please do grab the comp. We’ve been listening and smiling all day, feeling very good about this small band of ours.“
Thank you to @heavenlycrecs and the artists for raising so much money for such an important org
If you’ve not picked it up yet then please do grab the comp. We’ve been listening and smiling all day, feeling very good about this small band of ourshttps://t.co/ABopF62y5L https://t.co/o99lUrcX4d
— Los Campesinos! (@LosCampesinos) January 7, 2022
This isn’t the first charity compilation from Heavenly Creatures, with them previously having done the same with the works of The National, raising money for House of Tulip (which aims to help homelessness among trans and gender non-conforming people in New Orleans). They also released a similar compilation of Frightened Rabbit songs, helping Tiny Changes (an organisation helping the mental health of today’s youth). There’s also word of a Taylor Swift-themed compilation coming up in the future.
The release comes as the band continue to ready a follow-up to their 2017 work Sick Scenes. They also recently finished a tour of live performances, their first since February 2020. The 3-date event from December 13th-15th took the band to Cardiff, London and Leeds, earning them a four-star review in NME after appearing in London’s Village Underground.
The show in Village Underground was described as “a rousing tribute to their back catalogue, … [with] the future … looking bright“, with them playing an extra-long set after their support act, Fortitude Valley, had to pull out due to covid. The dates were mostly honouring the tenth anniversary of the band’s 2011 album Hello Sadness, but featured tunes from throughout their career, starting off with their 2021 single “Allez Les Blues“.
Despite the new album coming up, Los Campesinos! are also busy reissuing their old works, with limited vinyl reissues of Hello Sadness and 2010’s Romance is Boring being due out next February 18th in honour of their tenth anniversaries, after having done the same with their first two albums back in 2018. You can read more about this here.
