Sick Scenes

Los Campesinos! - Sick Scenes
Critic Score
Based on 23 reviews
2017 Ratings: #208 / 940
User Score
Based on 151 ratings
2017 Rank: #354
Liked by 6 people
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CRITIC REVIEWS

90
God Is in the TV

While Sick Scenes comes after their longest break between albums, they’ve lost no ground. Instead, they’ve made their saddest yet most rewarding album to date.

90
No Ripcord

Sick Scenes is an emotional melting pot of joy, regret and rage against the passage of time. But as heavy as that sounds, Los Campesinos! has never sounded lighter on its feet. With some of their catchiest songs yet and Gareth's muse in top form, this album stands among their strongest work.

90
Exclaim!

Los Campesinos!' brief hiatus has resulted in one of their strongest releases to date; Sick Scenes is an eloquent testament to the triumphs and trials of adulthood.

90
The Line of Best Fit

Though Sick Scenes is unlikely to win the band legions of new fans, it’s a record that sits comfortably alongside the rest of their canon while acting as an affirmation as to why, in 2017, a decade after their debut, Los Campesinos! are just as important now as they were ten years ago.

80
Drowned in Sound

Sick Scenes isn’t a doom and gloom exercise, nor miserable thousand-yard stare. Instead it is the sound of a band doubling down on what brought them to their particular dance, peppered with unflinching honesty and conviction, all dressed up in requisite ‘take us or leave us’ glamour.

80
Clash
British guitar music has been crying out for heroes for a long time now, yet the search is only ever confined to bands who have recorded barely more than a handful of songs. The fact Los Campesinos! are consistently ignored is something of a tragedy — they write hooks, they’re inventive, they’re passionate, they can do uplifting and they can do poignant, and on ‘Sick Scenes’, they do it all with panache.
80
The Skinny

Sick Scenes sees LC! offering up a liberating set of songs about odious city hipsters, youthful nostalgia and future anxiety, wrapped up in the seven-piece’s usual glorious flurry of chipper riffs and witty lyricisms.

80
DIY

While ‘Sick Scenes’ is a record that questions its authors places in the world in tandem, it’s also one that shows that, for as long as they’re here, Los Campesinos! will always be able to express a certain character type better than most.

76
Pitchfork

Sick Scenes, the British group’s sixth album, plays like a love letter to aging indie idealism; to the fans who have reveled in this band’s careening pop-punk singalongs, scathing neuroses, and charmingly specific soccer references.

75
A.V. Club

If Sick Scenes doesn’t necessarily cohere as a whole, the individual songs are strong enough that it also doesn’t really matter.

70
Under the Radar

The indie pop band has never released a subpar album; instead they've been consistent in creating songs that resonate on both lyrical and sonic levels. And their latest, Sick Scenes is no different.

70
PopMatters

If you’ve found Los Campesinos! to be a bit much in the past, this isn’t going to be the album that changes your mind. But Los Campesinos! aren’t trying to change minds. They just make records, and they’ve made a very good one in Sick Scenes.

70
musicOMH
The record sees them release their pent-up anger across 11 songs that embrace the band’s enthusiasm to get back to doing what they do best.
67
GIGsoup

Thematically and lyrically, ‘Sick Scenes’ examines places that host scenes of extreme emotion, which have a deep personal resonance.

60
AllMusic

It all makes for an unbalanced listening experience, one that only the most dedicated Los Campesinos! fans will likely want to undertake. For anyone else, Sick Scenes might be a little too over-produced and undercooked, despite the moments when some of the band's old thrills poke through the fresh coat of paint.

StygianHollow
70

Solid album, not very much to say about it but tracks 1 and 4 are fantastic

Favourite tracks: ★ Renato Dall'ara (2008), A Slow Slow Death, The Fall of Home

And that concludes my dive on Los Campesinos!!! I'll miss it... I LOVE LOS CAMPESINOS I LOVE LOS CAMPESINOS I LOVE LOS CAMPESINOS I LOVE LOS CAMPESINOS I LOVE LOS CAMPESINOS I LOVE LOS CAMPESINOS I LOVE LOS CAMPESINOS I LOVE LOS CAMPESINOS I LOVE LOS CAMPESINOS I LOVE LOS CAMPESINOS I LOVE LOS CAMPESINOS I LOVE LOS CAMPESINOS I LOVE LOS ... read more

finbus
82

as the name suggests, this album is indeed pretty sick. after their longest break between albums (at the time of review) Los Campesinos offer a showcase of refined pop-punk/indie greatness. it's always a pleasure to listen to Los Campesinos, and here is absolutely no different.

favourite tracks: Renato Dall'Ara (2008), I Broke Up in Amarante, A Slow Slow Death

TheFridge88
94

Album Name: Sick Scenes
Album Artist: Los Campesinos!
Favourite Song: Renato Dell'Ara (2008)
Least Favourite Song:
Enjoyment Rating: 10/10
Album Rating: 9.4/10

elliottsargent
85

These guys are the best.

76

Favourite tracks: A Slow, Slow Death, 5 Flucloxacillin, For Whom the Belly Tolls, Got Stendhal’s, Hung Empty

finbus
82

as the name suggests, this album is indeed pretty sick. after their longest break between albums (at the time of review) Los Campesinos offer a showcase of refined pop-punk/indie greatness. it's always a pleasure to listen to Los Campesinos, and here is absolutely no different.

favourite tracks: Renato Dall'Ara (2008), I Broke Up in Amarante, A Slow Slow Death

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Added on: November 11, 2016