miserabilia

What does miserabilia even mean?

Los Campesinos' 2008 Song: How It Changed Me.

Written & Edited by Felix of Miserabilia

In the year of 2022, I started listening to Los Campesinos.

In case you're not familiar with the band, Los Campesinos are an emo indie rock band that was formed in 2006 at Cardiff University in Wales (ironically, none of the members are Welsh). Since their inception, Los Campesinos (LC) have seen a variety of artists come and go from their ranks, with few original members remaining for releases. They've released six full-length albums and numerous other projects, including a live album that I absolutely adore.

Gareth Paisley, otherwise known by his stage name, Gareth Campesinos (the last name being shared among all members), is the lead vocalist and frontman for LC. He is also their primary songwriter.

And it is there where I find the most inspiration. LC songs are always full of vivid imagery and symbolism. Miserabilia is a song about, as Gareth says on their live album, death. Dying alone, to be more specific. The narrators sing about dying with no one to remember them, and most devastatingly, no one cared at all. Their relationships collapse. They suffocate their partners. It's not entirely their fault, they're naturally miserable people, but they can't, or perhaps refuse to change. The male narrator, voiced by Gareth, of course, sings about sobbing in the bathrooms of working men's clubs, screaming to God and asking when his suffering will end. He has a break down in an ex-lover's naked breasts. This, presumably, is what caused their separation. Nothing is ever gonna change them or their miserabilia.

I like my music like I like my coffee: dark and deep. Los Campesinos is exactly that. They have a perfect blend of rock and indie sound with emo lyrics that could make anyone cry and contemplate. I've sung along to so many songs, felt them infecting my brain, and I wouldn't want it any other way. I'd like to gatekeep this band, really, but that would be preventing the world at large from experiencing their beautiful sound.