My Favorites Albums is a piece in which I will talk about albums that I love. I pretty much made a big ol' playlist of my favorite albums, and will randomly pick one from time to time to write about.
Los Campesinos! - Hold On Now, Youngster (2008, Wichita Recordings (UK), Arts & Crafts (NA))
Grooveshark
iTunes
Amazon mp3
Metacritic
PART I: INTRO (Or, how I came to like a twee band)
There used to be a nice little site called Fabchannel. Fabchannel streamed and archived live shows from their native Amsterdam for anyone to watch online (here is a link if you like, but sadly the site has been shut down). I used to go there occasionally to watch live shows from bands like Okkervil River, Wilco, M. Ward, etc. The ads on the site usually revolved around one of the upcoming shows they were recording. Around the time that I used to frequent the site, they were advertising for an up and coming English band from Wales, known as Los Campesinos!. Originally the song they would play for the ad annoyed the hell out of me, but the more I heard it the more it grew on me. Their fist album, Hold On Now, Youngster eventually made it to the U.S., to pretty strong reviews (exhibit A, B, and C). So I listened to it, and found that it was much more than just your average twee pop album.
PART II: LIVEJOURNAL ROCK
The first thing you might notice about this album is its glut of melodramatic lyrics. I don't know how old lead singer Gareth(all the members use the surname Campesinos) was when they made this album, but when you take their lyrical content on this album into account, you would have to assume he's in his early twenties at the oldest. Every song is filled with either melodramatic feelings about love or life, pithy comments about the state of the world, or self depreciating stanzas(See: from above song: "I cherish with fondness, the day (before) I met you). I can see how this might turn people off on this album, but to me it's just another part of its charm. You don't find many bands like this that seem completely honest in their lyrical content. You might go as far to say that the lyricism on this album constitutes it as "emo", but I would say they are too smart to be considered that. Besides, what kids these days count as emo is almost laughable, but that's the theme of another article.
PART III: IN WHICH HAVING 8-9 MEMBER IN YOUR BAND IS USUALLY A GOOD THING
Something that is noted early in listening to Los Campesinos! is the amount of instruments that are on each song. The band enlists on average about 7 members. This allows for them to have a surprisingly lush sound, with violin, multiple guitars, and other random instruments thrown in. Another important part of what makes this album so great is how much energy is thrown into every song. Each song has its own feel and different energy, giving it a unique feel while still feeling cohesive. Another thing that drew me to this album was the use of both female and male vocals, which is something I am always a big supporter of. This works so well for them on account of the previously aforementioned melodramatic lyrics, it gives each gender their own voice. For a band with this many members, there is something a level of hectics that can muddy the recordings, but for the most part their sound it surprisingly close knit.
PART IV: OUTRO
Los Campesinos! was a band that I didn't think I would like. They managed to win me over with witty lyrics, loud, tightly wound music, and a charm that oozes from their sound that most bands can never hope to emulate. Hold On Now, Youngster was a strong opening salvo, and they have followed it up with two great albums. They have managed to become one of my favorite bands, even if they are still something of a guilty pleasure for me.
BONUS TRACK:
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