“No Blues” is the fifth studio album by the Welsh indie rock group Los Campesinos! The album sort of sounds like one long 42–minute song, but that’s not necessarily a bad thing. The first track, “For Flotsam,” is synthy and guitar–laden and establishes that Los Campesinos! have not lost their lyrical prowess. The next five songs are as strong as the first, especially with the catchy “The Portrait of the Trequartista As A Young Man” (the name is slightly less catchy) and the lyrically powerful “As Lucerne/The Low.” But like a lot of good–but–not–great albums, the momentum begins to fall after the halfway mark up until the brilliant finale “Selling Rope (Swan Dive To Estuary).” Still, this is a solid project and a definite listen for any indie pop fan.
Grade: B
Download: “Lucerne/The Low”
Sounds best when:Looking up the definition of the word “Trequartista.”
