No Blues

No Blues[lower-alpha 1] is the fifth studio album by Welsh indie rock band Los Campesinos!. It was released on 29 October 2013 via Wichita Recordings, Turnstile and Heart Swells.[2] The album was produced by John Goodmanson and guitarist Tom Bromley, and is the first to not feature founding bassist Ellen Waddell, who amicably left the group in late 2012.

This article is about the Los Campesinos! album. For the Horace Parlan album, see No Blues (album).

No Blues
Studio album by
Los Campesinos!
Released29 October 2013
Recorded2013
Genre
Length41:39
Label
  • Wichita
  • Turnstile Music
  • Heart Swells
Producer
Los Campesinos! chronology
Hello Sadness
(2011)		 No Blues
(2013)		 A Los Campesinos! Christmas
(2014)
Singles from No Blues
  1. "What Death Leaves Behind"
    Released: 29 August 2013
  2. "Avocado, Baby"
    Released: 8 October 2013

The first single, "What Death Leaves Behind", was released as a free download on the band's SoundCloud page on 29 August 2013.[3] The second single, "Avocado, Baby", was released on 8 October 2013.[4]

Critical reception
Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[5]
Review scores
SourceRating
The A.V. ClubB+[6]
Consequence of SoundB[7]
Drowned in Sound8/10[8]
MusicOMH[9]
The Line of Best Fit8.5/10[10]
Pitchfork8.0/10[11]
The Skinny[12]
This is Fake DIY[13]

Critical response was positive. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album has received an average score of 79, based on 17 reviews.[14] Writing for Pitchfork, Ian Cohen said No Blues "ends up sounding like the happiest [Los Campesinos!] record, or at least the most implicitly hopeful". He claimed the band "have never sounded so muscular or crafted melodies as instantly memorable".[11] Chris Tapley of The Line of Best Fit praised the album's production, in which the band "no longer assert themselves as the most important aspect of the tracks". He called "Selling Rope (Swan Dive to Estuary)" their best closing track and concluded: "No longer a band rough and ready jumping breathlessly between ideas, they are burying their chaos under smooth edges and verdant melodies and it sounds better than ever".[10]

Accolades
Appearances on year-end lists
Publication Accolade Rank Ref.
The A.V. Club 23 Best Albums of 2013 18 [15]
Drowned in Sound Favourite Albums of 2013 14 [16]
MusicOMH Top 100 Albums of 2013 72 [17]
PopMatters 75 Best Albums of 2013 49 [18]
Best Indie Rock Albums of 2013 4 [19]

Track listing

All lyrics written by Gareth Paisey, all music composed by Tom Bromley.

  1. "For Flotsam" – 3:43
  2. "What Death Leaves Behind" – 3:37
  3. "A Portrait of the Trequartista as a Young Man" – 3:01
  4. "Cemetery Gaits" – 4:52
  5. "Glue Me" – 5:04
  6. "As Lucerne/The Low" – 4:22
  7. "Avocado, Baby" – 4:36
  8. "Let It Spill" – 3:20
  9. "The Time Before the Last Time" – 2:47
  10. "Selling Rope (Swan Dive to Estuary)" – 6:17

Personnel

Los Campesinos!

  • Gareth Paisey
  • Neil Beale
  • Tom Bromley – production, brass and string arrangements, recording
  • Kim Paisey
  • Rob Taylor – art direction, design
  • Jason Adelinia

Additional musicians

  • Cardiff Cougar Allstars Cheerleaders – vocals (track 7)
  • Michael Iles – trumpet
  • Phillip Peterson – strings, recording
  • Craig Walker – trombone

Additional technical and promotional personnel

  • John Goodmanson – production, mixing
  • Mazen Murad – mastering
  • Michael Barrow – photography
  • DLT – design

Notes
  1. Stylised in all caps.[1]

References
  1. "NO BLUES by Los Campesinos!". Bandcamp. 28 May 2021. Retrieved 30 May 2023.
  2. Battan, Carrie (29 August 2013). "Los Campesinos! Announce New Album No Blues, Share Song "What Death Leaves Behind"". Pitchfork Media. Retrieved 9 October 2013.
  3. Los Campesinos!. "What Death Leaves Behind by Los Campesinos! on SoundCloud - Hear the world's sounds". SoundCloud. Retrieved 7 October 2013.
  4. Martins, Chris (8 October 2013). "Los Campesinos! Celebrate the 'Avocado, Baby' on Upbeat Single". Spin. Retrieved 9 October 2013.
  5. Sendra, Tim. "No Blues - Los Campesinos! : Songs, Reviews, Credits, Awards : AllMusic". Retrieved 27 October 2013.
  6. Ryan, Kyle (29 October 2013). "Music Review: Los Campesinos! - No Blues". The A.V. Club. Retrieved 29 October 2013.
  7. Bosman, Chris (1 November 2013). "Album Review: Los Campesinos! - No Blues". Consequence of Sound. Retrieved 1 November 2013.
  8. Burrows, Marc. "Los Campesinos! - No Blues / Releases / Releases // Drowned in Sound". Archived from the original on 26 October 2013. Retrieved 27 October 2013.
  9. Meller, David (24 October 2013). "Los Campesinos! - No Blues". Retrieved 27 October 2013.
  10. Tapley, Chris. "Los Campesinos! "No Blues"". The Line of Best Fit. Retrieved 19 June 2023.
  11. Cohen, Ian. "Album Review: Los Campesinos! - No Blues". Pitchfork. Retrieved 29 October 2013.
  12. Kaill, Gary (22 October 2013). "Album Review: Los Campesinos! - No Blues". Retrieved 27 October 2013.
  13. Wright, Danny (28 October 2013). "Los Campesinos! – No Blues". DIY. Retrieved 19 June 2023.
  14. "Los Campesinos!:No Blues (2013):Reviews". Metacritic. Retrieved 9 December 2013.
  15. Ryan, Kyle (5 December 2013). "The 23 best albums of 2013". The A.V. Club. Retrieved 18 June 2023.
  16. Adams, Sean (9 December 2013). "Drowned in Sound's Favourite Albums of 2013: Top 20". Drowned in Sound. Archived from the original on 12 October 2019. Retrieved 18 June 2023.
  17. "musicOMH's Top 100 Albums Of 2013: Full List and Playlist | Lists". MusicOMH. 9 December 2013. Retrieved 18 June 2023.
  18. "The 75 Best Albums of 2013". PopMatters. 3 January 2014. Retrieved 18 June 2023.
  19. "PopMatters' Best Indie Rock Albums of 2013". PopMatters. 1 January 2014. Archived from the original on 27 September 2017. Retrieved 18 June 2023.
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