Holy shit! We survived yet another winter. Now that the temperatures are going up and daylight is finally sticking around, it is time to put the old sad bastard music back up on your bookshelves and break out the sunny pop. The timing for Los Campesinos! couldn’t have been any better, as this seven-piece from Cardiff has offered up a collection of bright pop gems to help kick off the new season.
Overly caffeinated enthusiams abounds on Hold On Now, Youngster…, bombarding your eardrums with shout-along chant-tastic choruses, hand claps and a broad range of instrumentation randing from Glockenspiel to violins. Looking back to their previous EP, Sticking Fingers Into Sockets, I described the group’s sound as if “Bis had babies with Arcade Fire.” That still remains spot on, although I’d add bits of The Go! Team (who also love adding punctuation to their band name) and perhaps even Belle & Sebastian on a ridiculous sugar high. They also once again teamed up with Broken Social Scene’s David Newfeld for production duties, so there are no surprise punches thrown on this album.
A few cuts from the EP did find their way onto the album, including a slightly more filled-out version of “Don’t Tell Me To Do The Math(s).” All the energy from the original is still there, just with a slightly (and I mean slightly) more polished feel. New tracks carry that same sense of humor that we’ve grown to love from the Campesinos, such as “Knee Deep At ATP” and “Broken Heartbeats Sound Like Breakbeats.”
For those unfamiliar with this group, make sure you give “You! Me! Dancing!” a listen, as it is still a favorite. As for the rest of you who already know Los Campesinos!, if you enjoyed the EP, you’ll love Hold On Now, Youngster. They didn’t try much to stray away from the sound of their earlier recordings, but would you really want them to? They’ve got the sing-along indie pop formula down to a science, so simply hit play, go out in the sunshine and enjoy every second of it.
MP3 Download – “Don’t Tell Me To Do The Math(s)”
