Los Campesinos! : Hold On Now Youngster
 

Why does everyone and their grandmother think they can just pick up the microphone and sing? I like the music but the female vocals are so fucking bland I wanna slap the fucking bitch that thought it was a good idea. The bloke can't sing to save his life either but at least it's got character. So yeah, overall, I'm not gonna be giving this much attention...:\

^^^ I understand what you mean about the singing, but i never thought it affected the music at all. countless decent bands do and have had appalling vocalists. i just see it as fun, diy and punky.

but anyway, i love this band a whole lot. i'm waiting for the official release, though, before going any further in comment.

Sometimes it works sometimes it doesn't, they fall in the latter category. Which is a goddamn shame because the music has a lot of potential...:\

i've noticed a lot of people find the vocals off-putting. i tried playing "putting fingers into sockets" to a load of people last summer, me typically being really excited, others just looking puzzled. my brother for instance just saw it as ridiculous and a joke.

myself, i think the vocal style is part of what makes them them, part of what distinguishes them. that's probably why i find it tolerable. if another band were to do it, i wouldn't stand it a moment.

I don't think their vocal style is particularly distinctive, as it is for example with the Dirty projectors or Antony Hegarty, nor do they have particularly memorable voices, like Win Butler from the Arcade fire. It would be better if the woman doesn't sing at all but that wouldn't change the fact that the songs vocally don't really go anywhere. It's as if the rest of the band got some really cool ideas but the singer(s) just didn't manage to follow up on them...I dunno if I'm making sense here. Anyways, it's all subjective...:\

Really good album. I'm not loving it as much as last year's EP yet, but it's growing with every listen. Of the new songs, "This Is How You Spell..." and "My Year In Lists" would be favourites so far.

Alright, I've heard most of this album now - and on early impressions what I'll say is that I do not think it's at all as good as the EP "placing fingers into sockets". It'll be a great pity if that impression stays the same.

I'm having trouble finding this and remember really digging some of their stuff. Anyone care to help me out?

Alright, I'm back to give my 2 cents on this now.

This album is great, it really is. The song structures are incoherent and messy, the layers and layers of pointless noise and intertwining instrumental add-on parts are insane, the tag-team vocals overlap and cut into each other like competing race horses in a way that's so absurd it's hilarious, the lyrics are so tongue-in-cheek and ridden with in-joke references that they're completely indecipherable probably even to the other members of the band...and it all sounds ABSOLUTELY F'CUKIN BRILLIANT!

It takes some time to sink in, but this is a record of lasting appeal that just gets better upon each subsequent listen. Basically, get a copy of it! Now!

Peace