Los Campesinos! We are Beautiful, We Are Doomed
Los Campesinos!'s We are Beautiful, We are Doomed arrives as a compact blast of energetic indie-pop that turns youthful despondency and witty self-loathing into irresistible hooks. Across 24 professional reviews the record earned a 79.75/100 consensus score, and critics consistently point to breathless melodies and jag
The best song, “Ways To Make It Through the Wall”, is best for its euphoric, addictive climaxes and hook-driven payoff.
The album's core strengths are its ragged, noisy production and intensified self-loathing that make short, urgent songs feel cathartic and memorable.
Best for listeners looking for melodrama and youthful angst, starting with Ways To Make It Through the Wall and We Are Beautiful, We Are Doomed.
Explore the full Chorus artist page, discography, and related genre paths.
See where this record sits inside the full critic-ranked discography.
Jump from this record into the broader critic-consensus lists for 2008.
Full consensus notes
Los Campesinos!'s We are Beautiful, We are Doomed arrives as a compact blast of energetic indie-pop that turns youthful despondency and witty self-loathing into irresistible hooks. Across 24 professional reviews the record earned a 79.75/100 consensus score, and critics consistently point to breathless melodies and jagged, cathartic arrangements as its defining traits. Standout songs named again and again include “Ways To Make It Through the Wall”, the title cut “We Are Beautiful, We Are Doomed” and “Heart Swells/Pacific Daylight Time” for balancing fury with tenderness.
The critical consensus emphasizes the album's brevity and fizzing energy: reviewers praise the band's knack for melodic instrumentation - glockenspiel, violin and sprinting guitars - and clever, self-deprecating lyrics that read like internet-era confessionals. Many critics call the best songs on We are Beautiful, We are Doomed compact, unrelenting mini-epics; Pitchfork and Drowned In Sound highlight the record's intensified catharsis, while Paste and The Skinny single out “Ways To Make It Through the Wall” and the title track as proof of the band's melodic immediacy.
Not all accounts are unreservedly positive. Some reviewers note occasional inconsistency and a degree of performative cleverness that keeps sincerity at arm's length, so while the consensus score and repeated praise suggest the album is worth listening to, critics also flag moments where the manic production undercuts deeper emotional payoff. Still, across professional reviews the dominant impression is of a youthful, exuberant collection that refines Los Campesinos!'s voice and stakes out their talent for turning melodrama into memorable, singalong catchiness. Read on for full reviews and track-by-track notes on where the record shines and stumbles.
Critics' Top Tracks
The standout songs that made critics take notice
Ways To Make It Through the Wall
6 mentions
"the record opens with frontman Gareth musing "I think it’s fair to say that I chose hopelessness / and inflicted it on the rest of us."— Paste Magazine
We Are Beautiful, We Are Doomed
4 mentions
"Those still bewitched by 'You! Me! Dancing!' will fall head over heels for the title track"— Drowned In Sound
You'll Need Those Fingers For Crossing
2 mentions
"and leads directly into the motorik-locked melancholia of "You'll Need Those Fingers for Crossing"— Pitchfork
the record opens with frontman Gareth musing "I think it’s fair to say that I chose hopelessness / and inflicted it on the rest of us.
Track Ratings
How critics rated each track, relative to this album (0-100). Only tracks that made critics feel something are rated.
Ways To Make It Through the Wall
Miserabilia
We Are Beautiful, We Are Doomed
Between an Erupting Earth and an Exploding Sky
You'll Need Those Fingers For Crossing
It's Never That Easy Though, Is It? (Song For the Other Kurt)
The End of the Asterisk
Documented Minor Emotional Breakdown # 1
Heart Swells/Pacific Daylight Time
All Your Kayfabe Friends
Get the next albums worth your time.
Critic-backed picks in one clean digest. No clutter.
What Critics Are Saying
Deep insights from 24 critics who reviewed this album
En
Critic's Take
Los Campesinos! sound like a generation of beautiful messes on We Are Beautiful, We Are Doomed, and the best tracks - notably “Ways To Make It Through the Wall” and “We Are Beautiful, We Are Doomed” - prove it. The reviewer's voice delights in the album's screeching guitars, glockenspiels and racing synths, praising the euphoric climaxes and quotable, pretentious jumble that somehow coheres. He singles out “Ways To Make It Through the Wall” for its addictive hooks and the title track for its anthemic scream, both examples of the record's dizzying, lovable experience. Overall the record is unresolved and flawed, but gloriously careless and heartwarming, the kind of album that will stick its foot in your music library and refuse to leave.
Key Points
-
The best song, “Ways To Make It Through the Wall”, is best for its euphoric, addictive climaxes and hook-driven payoff.
-
The album's core strength is its coherent chaos - catchy, melodramatic indie-pop with inventive arrangements and raw emotion.
Themes
Th
Critic's Take
Los Campesinos!' follow-up We are Beautiful, We Are Doomed is described in the review as a messy, glorious document of internet-café-era indie life, and the critic singles out “Heart Swells/Pacific Daylight Time” as a standout for its lovelorn miniature-epic sweep. The review likewise praises the seismic instrumental “Between an Erupting Earth and an Exploding Sky” and the motorik-locked melancholia of “You'll Need Those Fingers for Crossing”, making them among the best tracks on We are Beautiful, We Are Doomed. The writer's tone is admiring but frank, noting intensified self-loathing and catharsis that make these songs resonate more sharply than the debut.
Key Points
-
The best song is "Heart Swells/Pacific Daylight Time" because of its lovelorn, miniature-epic structure and shifting sonic textures.
-
The album's core strengths are its ragged, noisy production and intensified self-loathing that make short, urgent songs feel cathartic and memorable.
Themes
Critic's Take
Los Campesinos! follow up with We Are Beautiful, We Are Doomed as a compact confirmation of their gift for loveable melodies and bitter lyrics. Chris Buckle praises opener “Ways To Make It Through the Wall” as an "adrenaline-charged rush of pop-hooks" while noting the title track “We Are Beautiful, We Are Doomed” eases off the accelerator to reveal depth. The result answers searches for best songs on We Are Beautiful, We Are Doomed with those two immediate standouts, both balancing hyperactivity and emotional sting. Overall the album refines rather than reinvents, delivering the best tracks as proof of a knack for melodic immediacy.
Key Points
-
The best song is "Ways To Make It Through the Wall" because of its adrenaline-charged pop-hooks and clever, barbed lyrics.
-
The album’s core strengths are irresistible melodies paired with bittersweet, witty lyrics and refined energetic arrangements.
Themes
Ho
mu
Sp
Ti
Ar
Pr
Sp
Critic's Take
Los Campesinos! keep the nervous energy intact on We are Beautiful, We are Doomed, and the title track in particular arrives like a glorious, profane mission statement. The record trades in jagged confessionals and violin-guitar point-counterpoint, and songs such as “We Are Beautiful, We Are Doomed” and “Ways To Make It Through the Wall” feel like the best tracks, compact and unrelenting. This is pop that is both frantic and tender, the kind of short, furious album that rewards repeat plays.
Key Points
-
The title track is the album's centerpiece because its brutal, quotable lyric crystallizes the record's worldview.
-
The album's core strength is its concise, energetic songwriting that turns short runtime into concentrated hooks and emotion.
Themes
Dr
Critic's Take
Los Campesinos!'s We are Beautiful, We Are Doomed brims with fizzing energy, and the best songs - notably “Ways To Make It Through the Wall” and “You'll Need Those Fingers For Crossing” - show why. Joseph Weiler's voice delights in the band's knack for literate couplets and terrace-chant hooks, so the best tracks on We are Beautiful, We Are Doomed are those that pair sharp lyricism with kinetic arrangements. The title track also lingers as a sulky, beloved centerpiece, while “Heart Swells/Pacific Daylight Time” proves they can be tender as well as urgent. Overall, the album's strengths lie in youthful despondency given glorious pop wings, which makes these songs the standout moments listeners ask for when searching for the best tracks on the album.
Key Points
-
The album's core strengths are literate, youthful despondency married to energetic, unpretentious indie-pop.
Themes
Co
Critic's Take
Los Campesinos! keep their exuberant, witty voice intact on We are Beautiful, We Are Doomed, and the best songs - notably “Ways To Make It Through the Wall” and “It's Never That Easy Though, Is It? (Song For the Other Kurt)” - wear that contrast proudly. The record opens with “Ways To Make It Through the Wall”, which the reviewer says "explod[es] like a dog out of a trap", giving the album an irresistible rush. Mid-album highlights such as “It's Never That Easy Though, Is It? (Song For the Other Kurt)” and “Documented Minor Emotional Breakdown # 1” show the band turning melodrama into catchy, singalong hooks. Though the reviewer notes consistency slips after the first three tracks, the record's mixture of bright music and pessimistic lyrics makes these best tracks stand out.
Key Points
-
The best song is the opener "Ways To Make It Through the Wall" because its explosive exuberance sets the album apart.
-
The album’s core strength is contrast: pessimistic, melodramatic lyrics over bright, bouncy music.