Spun: Los Campesinos!

By Jordyn Marcellus

Are you looking for a cute little indie album that sounds like something out of 500 Days of Summer or Paper Hearts? Look no further than Hello Sadness.


Recorded in Spain with producer John Goodmanson, who helped the band with their previous records, the album deals mostly in thematic staples. Love, loss and heartbreak — along with a dash of beloved indie lyricism — are the ingredients that Hello Sadness is made of.


Open the jewel case to the liner notes, though, and the band of seven (or whoever wrote the description) seemed to be a little too confident when stating that Hello Sadness “is a record that’s wiser and more focused . . . the most focused collection to date.”


Album opener “By Your Hand” is the one song I would sing along to — it’s catchy to the point where it seems like you’ve heard it before. After that, though, the album’s continuity is jarred. While the first song eases the listener into its melody, it’s followed by an abrupt stop as the second song takes a much darker route.


Closer attention to the cohesiveness of the record would have been preferable to just haphazardly queuing up tracks to fill up air space. Hello Sadness is still lyrically sound, though, which somewhat makes up for its interrupted flow.


Granted, maybe listeners should know what they’re signing up for when they pick up a record called Hello Sadness, and there’s a certain beauty to dark, heartbreaking lyrics. Something was off with this album, however. More instrumental continuity is the best prescription for their next effort.