los campesinos! - hold on now youngster

Receiving interest in the blogging community as long ago as August 2006 with a series of ramshackle gigs, the Cardiff septet have grown remarkably in poise and confidence. The sheer enthusiasm and energy they displayed performing in the studio and live was often lost in the mix on their early releases, but Canadian producer David Newfield has brilliantly harnessed their invention and helped to create a gem of a record - which will deservedly catapult them beyond the Tweecore underground. The spirit of C86 is certainly alive and well in ‘Hold On Now Youngster’ most notably in the K Records-referencing ‘Knee Deep At ATP’ - a tale of love and loss at the notorious indie love-in. This desire to remain ‘independent’ has led to accusations of snobbery from critics but on listening to the LP it’s clear that LC! do not simply rely on a cutout Belle & Sebastian indie-pop template. Rather, the band take their influences from a much wider range of sources, from punk bands like Huggy Bear and the Kill Rock Stars label, to cult 90s indie bands Bis and Prolapse. Hold On Now Youngster is the sound of a band bursting with ideas: it hurtles towards its conclusion like a bouncing bomb filled with joy, fear, uncertainty, hope… before it spectacularly collapses in a big shower of glitter and love, while you drunkenly embrace all your friends and tell them you love them. Los Campesinos! are a real treasure - it will be hard to find a better LP this year.