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Los Campesinos! - Hold On Now, Youngster...
I’m one of those people that due to the hatred shown towards the English and in particular Cardiff City and their fans that I don’t generally have a great view of the Welsh. The only thing that opinion has ever swayed on over the years is music.
Things started for me with Welsh music when I was in the less than knowledgable age bracket of 5-7 years old and I used to buy every Shakin Stevens single during that period! As my taste developed over the years (or as I got some taste should I say) it took a few years for another Welsh band to edge into my affections, this time they weren’t quite at the top of my list of favourite bands but I do own every Manic Street Preachers album.
While I never really got into Gorky’s, I did like the off the wall indie-pop of Super Furry Animals who from their early limited single releases I loved. Live they put on a superb show and every album gives you something different.
In the second half of 2007 another band emerged from the valleys that like SFA had a knack of writing instantly catchy, yet at times bonkers indie-pop music, the first thing I heard was You! Me! Dancing! and I instantly fell for the twee, upbeat sound that encompasses most of their material…I then found out they were from Cardiff and even that didn’t put me off!
So 2008 is a very interesting time for me and my strange and at times strained relationship with the leek eaters. Duffy is slaying everything in front of her with an amazing vocal and some classic songwriting and now here at last is the debut album from Los Campesinos! called Hold On Now, Youngster…
The album won’t be to everyone’s taste, i’ll say that from the outset, they are putting fun back into indie music so I can’t see the average beer swigging Oasis fan liking this, likewise the mainstream music buyer will probably pick up on the twee-ness that I mentioned earlier and bypass the group, neither of these things are bad in my eyes.
Hold On Now, Youngster is an accomplished, organised mess of a debut album. The band has seven members and they use nearly everyone of them on every song which means you have plenty going on in every track in the same way that The Go! Team seem to be coming at you from all angles.
- Los Campesinos!
- Hold On Now, Youngster... (2008)
- Category: Album
- Label: Wichita Recordings
- Reviewed by: Kev
- Published on: 24 Feb 2008
- Comments: 0
- Beat Surrender Rating:
Weblinks
Add to favouritesThe highlights for me are the brilliant Death to Los Campesinos! singtle that opens the album, the afore mentioned single that got me into the band, Knee Deep At ATP which brilliantly tells the tale of an experience at the ATP Festival and Drop It Doe Eyes, a shimmering pop song that breaks down in the middle into a frenetic jumble, then brilliantly pulls itself back.
It isn’t perfect in every way don’t get me wrong, but they are a band that excite and I really do want to see them live, I imagine live they have even more going on than the tracks here.
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