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LOS CAMPESINOS! No, they’re not really Spanish peasants. And no, they’re not really related. But this twee Welsh septet, all supposedly surnamed Campesinos, plays like a family: wrestling for the mic, trading in-jokes on fiddle and bells, and generally trying to sing louder, sharper and shriller than each other. Produced by David Newfeld (Broken Social Scene), Hold On Now, Youngster... overflows with irony, pumping out bright indie-pop songs with titles such as “... And We Exhale And Roll Our Eyes In Unison” and “This Is How You Spell ‘HAHAHA, We Destroyed The Hopes And Dreams Of A Generation Of Faux-Romantics.’” Reprised from 2007’s Sticking Fingers Into Sockets EP, “You! Me! Dancing!” is a frenetic, infectiously silly tale of love on the dance floor. But the real joy is the stuttering, yelping “Death To Los Campesinos!” which could be about stealing, robots, songwriting, economics, artificial intelligence or nothing at all. Of course, it doesn’t really matter, because once the glockenspiel shifts into overdrive, the organ and guitar pick up the pace and the boy/girl vocals race breathlessly to the finish, it’s impossible to do anything but join the party, dance and laugh out loud. [Arts & Crafts, www.arts-crafts.ca] —Kenny Berkowitz
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