Los Campesinos!

Free but "DON'T FORGET TO PURCHASE THEIR NEW ALBUM 'ROMANCE IS BORING' ON THE DAY OF THE IN-STORE AT ROUGH TRADE EAST AND COLLECT YOUR WRISTBAND AT THE SAME TIME, ANY REMAINING WRISTBANDS WILL BE GIVEN OUT 1 HOUR PRIOR TO THE STAGE TIME, FIRST-COME-FIRST-SERVED BASIS.........ONE PER PERSON"

If you come to 'Romance Is Boring' with too many preconceptions about Los Campesinos!, please leave them at the door: this album may not be what you expect. Of course, the signs of a rejuvenated Campesinos! were there, if you were looking.

Last year's mini album 'We Are Beautiful, We Are Doomed' debuted a firmer, harder sound, the giddy sugar rush of 'You! Me! Dancing!' metabolized into nervous adrenaline and lyrics spiked with jealousy, angst and paranoia. But 'Romance Is Boring' feels like a band that's - well, not so much grown up - let's say 'fully realized.' Produced by John Goodmanson (Sleater-Kinney, Bikini Kill, Wu-tang Clan), it's a record that's bigger, deeper, more complex and more direct than anything Los Campesinos! has recorded to date.

'Romance Is Boring' is filled out with added brass, strings, drum machines and electronics, packed with guest spots from the likes of Jamie Stewart of Xiu Xiu, Zac Pennington of Parenthetical Girls and Jherek Bischoff of the dead science, it is nothing if not ambitious.