The band from Cardiff are celebrating their latest string of 10th anniversaries, as their third and fourth albums pass the special milestone. Romance is Boring and Hello Sadness was released in 2010 and 2011 respectively, and the band are celebrating by producing limited vinyl reissues of both, alongside a number of other treats for dedicated fans.
The Romance is Boring reissue was first announced back in 2019 and will be pressed on gold vinyl, with only 1,500 copies available for fans. A special digital download card will also be accompanying it, containing their 2010 four-song EP All’s Well that Ends. Pre-orders (which can be made on the band’s website here) will also get you a special copy of ‘The Universe Replied’: An Oral History of Romance is Boring, a 35,000-word zine giving interviews with past and current members talking about the process of making the album and touring it.
As for the Hello Sadness reissue, it will be accompanied by new artwork and will be pressed on transparent blue vinyl, with only 1,000 copies being made. The reissues are due next February 18th courtesy of Arts & Crafts. A band statement concerning the reissues said “Since its original release the band’s membership has changed, beloved venues have closed, we are all far older and more jaded. But Hello Sadness still hurts. ‘The Black Bird, The Dark Slope’ swirls desperately, ‘Every Defeat a Divorce (Three Lions)’ serves as a reminder of the dust gathering thicker in the England men’s football team’s trophy cabinet, and we, Los Campesinos!’s ‘sad eyed children’, still hang on their every word.”
The band’s never been shy of showing their sentimental side for past works, having done reissues for the tenth anniversary of their first two albums back in 2018, for 2008’s Hold on Now, Youngster… and We Are Beautiful, We Are Doomed. This was accompanied by a two-week tour. Last year they celebrated the anniversary of Romance is Boring with a reissue on Valentine’s Day, as well as two London concerts where they played the album all the way through. Also, the release of their latest EP back in May, Whole Damn Body, featured songs recorded around the time of Hello Sadness, seeing the band continuing to make this into an event for the fans.
To help fans eager to join them live to celebrate, last September they announced three dates where they would be playing around the UK, seeing Cardiff, London and Leeds from the 13th to the 15th of December. Suffice to say, the band seem to be on a roll at the moment. And fans have plenty more to look forward to, with lead vocalist Gareth Paisey admitting they were working on a new album. Also, the tenth anniversary of their fifth album No Blues (2013) is coming up in a couple of years, so it seems they won’t be short of things to celebrate just yet. So if you want a bit of the action, better get ordering now!
