Los Campesinos!

Los Campesinos! are a Welsh indie pop band formed in Cardiff in 2006, built around a large, multi-instrumentalist lineup including glockenspiel and layered guitars alongside a rotating rhythm section. The band is fronted lyrically by Gareth (Campesinos!), whose densely wordy, self-deprecating and often bleak lyrics contrast sharply with the group's bright, hook-laden, twee-adjacent indie pop sound.

Emerging from the mid-2000s UK indie scene alongside acts sharing a similarly sprightly, guitar-pop energy, the band quickly built a devoted cult following. Early singles such as «You! Me! Dancing!» and «Sweet Dreams, Sweet Cheeks» established their frantic, exclamation-mark-heavy style, while albums including Hold On Now, Youngster..., We Are Beautiful, We Are Doomed and Romance Is Boring expanded their sound into more melancholic and lyrically intricate territory.

The band's members all adopt the shared surname Campesinos! as a nod to band unity, and despite numerous lineup changes over nearly two decades, Los Campesinos! have remained active, continuing to release music independently. Their catalogue is noted for combining football references, political commentary and heartbreak with a distinctly British wit, drawing comparisons to acts like The Smiths for the tension between upbeat music and dark subject matter.