The band has seen several lineup changes– lead vocalist Gareth David Paisey and guitarists Neil Turner and Tom Bromley are the only remaining original members, now joined by guitarist Rob Taylor, keyboardist Kim Paisey, bassist Matt Fidler and drummer Jason Adelinia.

Influenced by the twee pop movement, the band released their debut studio album, Hold on Now, Youngster..., in February 2008, and followed up with We Are Beautiful, We Are Doomed, in October that year.

[1] Both receiving favourable reviews by critics, the former was described by Pitchfork as a "giddy, tuneful love note to individuality, pathos – and everything else indie pop built its name on".

[5] In March 2006, Tom Bromley joined the band, assuming the role of lead guitarist, later followed by Gareth Paisey – who became the band's principal lyricist – on lead vocals and glockenspiel, Harriet Coleman on violin and keyboard, and Aleksandra Berditchevskaia on vocals, keyboards and melodica.

The songs were posted on the band's Myspace account[8] which saw their reach and reputation grow, and in August 2006 landed them a slot supporting Canadian supergroup Broken Social Scene.

Receiving generally positive reviews, publication NME specifically praised its musicality but criticised its cohesiveness.

[17] In October 2008, the band performed around England, headlining the Shred Yr Face tour with support from No Age and Times New Viking.

[19][20] Rob Taylor, whom had opened frequently for the band in a solo capacity as Sparky Deathcap, became an official member, performing guitars, keyboards, percussion and glockenspiel.

It was preceded by the single "The Sea is a Good Place to Think of the Future", a free download released in September 2009, which was described by Vulture as a classic of the emo genre, "even if no one really knew what to call it" at the time.

[23] "There Are Listed Buildings" was released as the second single in November, coming with the announcement Gareth's sister, Kim Paisey, would join the band as keyboardist and vocalist.

[24] The band made their American network television debut on Last Call with Carson Daly, in which they performed "Romance Is Boring", pre-recorded from their show at the El Rey Theatre in Los Angeles in May 2010.

[27] Jason Adelinia, who had been the band's road manager since 2007 and previously a member of The Ghost Frequency and The Pipettes' backing group, The Cassettes, joined Los Campesinos!

On 9 December 2010, the band announced the launch of a quarterly magazine, Heat Rash,[28] and released a new Christmas song, "Kindle a Flame in Her Heart" as a free download through SoundCloud.

Each Heat Rash release included a magazine, a limited edition 7" vinyl record, and downloads of new music.

[30] Described by Gareth as having a more pop-oriented sound,[31] it was preceded by "By Your Hand", released as a free download in September, and title track "Hello Sadness" in October.

[41] It was preceded by singles "I Broke Up in Amarante" and "5 Flucloxacillin" and was accompanied by the announcement of the band's first North American tour in four years.

In 2018, the band announced that their first two albums would be remastered and reissued on vinyl on 12 October, with an additional EP featuring unreleased tracks.

[42] The band also announced that they would perform a concert in commemoration of both albums' tenth anniversary show on 13 October at the London Forum.

[44] In February 2020, the band performed the album's full track listing at two sold-out shows at Islington Assembly Hall.

"[54] As a band, they have before claimed to be heavily influenced by Pavement, Modest Mouse, Guided By Voices, Blur,[55] The Beautiful South, Xiu Xiu, Broken Social Scene, Built To Spill,[55] Yo La Tengo, Sonic Youth, Pulp, Belle & Sebastian, The Magnetic Fields, Joy Division and The Smiths, amongst others.

[56] Gareth has cited Paul Heaton, the frontman of The Housemartins and The Beautiful South, as his biggest influence as a songwriter.

'"[58] As of 2020, Gareth is the vice-chairperson of Welton Rovers F.C., a Western Football League club based in Midsomer Norton.