#5: Los Campesinos! - Hold On Now, Youngster... (2008)

1. Death To Los Campesinos!
2. Broken Heartbeats Sound Like Breakbeats
3. Don't Tell Me To Do The Math(s)
4. Drop It Doe Eyes
5. My Year In Lists
6. Knee Deep At ATP
7. This Is How You Spell, "Hahaha, We Destroyed The Hopes And Dreams Of A Generation Of Faux-Romantics"
8. We Are All Accelerated Readers
9. You! Me! Dancing!
10. ...And We Exhale And Roll Our Eyes In Unison
11. Sweet Dreams, Sweet Cheeks
12. 2007: The Year Punk Broke (My Heart)

I hadn't intended to do two albums from this year in a row, but I ended up half-starting about four reviews and this was the one that fleshed itself out the most before the deadline. Five albums in and I'm already struggling, oh dear... on the bright side, this is a fantastic record, and barring some freak slew of amazing releases in the remainder of the year, it'll almost certainly be in my top ten albums released in 2008.

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Welsh septet Los Campesinos! seem diametrically opposed to the style of indie music that has become ubiquitous in recent months, (and you suspect that they know it too) - which makes their debut LP Hold On Now, Youngster... a refreshing alternative for those who might feel that "Four sweaty boys with guitars tell me nothing about my life!"

After a few brief guitar strums, the album barrels into life at full speed with 'Death To Los Campesinos!'. The guitars squeal and squeak with an undeniable rawness, and the song's point/counterpoint boy/girl vocals and liberal use of glockenspiel are themes that continue throughout the album. The energy doesn't let up, as 'Broken Heartbeats Sound Like Breakbeats' continues proceedings with a giant shout of "One! Two! Three! Four!" before a joyful guitar line kicks in. The song's outro leads seamlessly into the gentle violin and glockenspiel intro of 'Don't Tell Me To Do The Math(s)', briefly slowing things down to let us catch our breath before another jolt of guitar brings things back to life.

While the first three tracks showcase the band's boundless energy, their lyrics can seem a little nonsensical and vague (although nonetheless containing some great one-liners). However, things get a bit more structured on 'Drop It Doe Eyes': The song charts the deterioration of a relationship, with Gareth "Drawing tiny little pictures of skeletons to get across the sense of impending doom," before resigning himself to the realisation that "not even two gospel choirs could save us now," as the song reaches a chaotic climax. 'My Year In Lists', meanwhile, manages to cram problems with long-distance love letters, a rant against the new year, and the brilliantly bitter kiss-off "I cherish with fondness the day (before) I met you" into less than two minutes of unrelentingly brilliant twee angst. And while the exact situation that inspired 'Knee Deep At ATP' may not be familiar to most listeners, the overall theme of discovering that you're second-best when it comes to someone's affections surely has a far wider resonance (and is summed up beautifully by the line "And when our eyes meet, all that I can read is "You're the B-side."")

Indeed, this album deals with heartache on a a very cynical, personal level. Not only is 'This Is How You Spell, "Hahaha, We Destroyed The Hopes And Dreams Of A Generation Of Faux-Romantics"' a frontrunner for best song title of the year, it also contains the most sublime spoken-word section I've heard in a song since... well, 'You! Me! Dancing!' actually, but before that 'You Could Have Both' by The Long Blondes. It's also a fantastically bitter breakup song, and the rejection of love continues on 'We Are All Accelerated Readers', with Gareth declaring that "the opposite of true love is as follows: Reality!" It's not all post-teenage heartache though: '...And We Exhale And Roll Our Eyes In Unison' sees the band hitting out at sexism in the music industry, while 'You! Me! Dancing!' is simply one of the most joyous, sprawling 7-minute pop songs that you'll hear all year.

The album almost feels like it has two closing tracks. First comes 'Sweet Dreams, Sweet Cheeks', a song that somehow sums up all the jaded bitterness that permeates the record as a whole, condensing it into three and a half minutes of rapid-fire intensity before breaking into a desperate, yet somehow hopeful chant of "One blink for yes, two blinks for no, sweet dreams sweet cheeks, we leave alone!" - it's a real lump in throat moment. There's a deliberate lull, and then 'hidden' track '2007: The Year Punk Broke (My Heart)' kicks in: Beginning sparsely and with simple, sentimental lyrics, it then builds into a gigantic instrumental finale, serving as a beautiful epilogue to all that's gone before it.

The brilliance of Hold On Now, Youngster... lies in its juxtaposition of upbeat instrumentation that's almost twee in places with fantastically bitter lyrics and a breathless sense of energy. It's also worth noting again how well Aleksandra's sweetly-sung lyrics contrast with the half-spoken, half-sung vocals of Gareth, with the rest of the band more than willing to contribute when the volume needs turning up. For me, the lyrics are the true star of the show: I've pointed out a few examples, but I could probably write a whole article simply quoting lyrics that I like from this record. Some may find that the shouty vocals and knowing 'indieness' become too much to bear, but for me this is an amazing debut record and certainly an early contender for album of the year.