Hold on Now, Youngster...

Hold on Now, Youngster... is the debut studio album by Welsh indie pop band Los Campesinos!, released through Wichita on 22 February 2008. It debuted at number 72 on the UK Album Charts. The album was preceded by three singles – "Death to Los Campesinos!" (February), "My Year in Lists" (May), and most notably, "You! Me! Dancing!" released in June 2007.

Hold on Now, Youngster...
Studio album by Los Campesinos!
Released	22 February 2008
Recorded	2007
Genre	Indie pop, noise pop
Length	42:52
Label	Wichita, Arts & Crafts
Producer	David Newfeld
Los Campesinos! chronology
Sticking Fingers into Sockets (2007) Hold on Now, Youngster... (2008) We Are Beautiful, We Are Doomed (2008)
Singles from Hold on Now, Youngster...
"You! Me! Dancing!" Released: 4 June 2007 "Death to Los Campesinos!" Released: 18 February 2008 "My Year in Lists" Released: 12 May 2008

A deluxe remastered tenth anniversary edition of the album with bonus tracks, specifically pre-album singles and rarities, was released on 12 October 2018.^[1][2]

Release

The original album contains 12 tracks, despite only being 11 listed on physical versions. "2007: The Year Punk Broke (My Heart)" is an unlisted track on the CD release, and as a C-side on the double gatefold vinyl.

On 3 July 2007, "You! Me! Dancing!" was released as part of the Sticking Fingers Into Sockets EP. A rerecorded, slightly longer version of the track appears on Hold on Now, Youngster..., and was promoted as the album's lead single. The song appeared at number 72 on Rolling Stone's list of the 100 Best Songs of 2007.^[3] The track appeared on a Budweiser television advert in 2010.^[4]

Two more singles – "Death to Los Campesinos!" and "My Year in Lists", were released before the album became available on 22 February 2008. The latter was formerly part of the band's four-track My Year in Lists single.^[5]

Reception

Professional ratings

Aggregate scores
Source	Rating
Metacritic	81/100[6]
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[7]
The A.V. Club	A[8]
Blender	[9]
The Guardian	[10]
MSN Music (Consumer Guide)	A[11]
NME	6/10[12]
The Observer	[13]
Pitchfork	8.4/10[14]
Spin	[15]
Uncut	[16]

Initial critical response was very positive. Metacritic gave the album an average score of 81 based on 29 mainstream critic reviews, asserting "universal acclaim".^[6]

Marc Hogan of Pitchfork called the debut "unusually taut and polished, with hooks, crescendos, and clever turns of phrase nearly always in the right place", citing "Sweet Dreams, Sweet Cheeks" as the album's highlight.^[17] Dave Simpson of the Guardian, in a four star review, wrote the album was "impeccably arranged and sharply constructed, and showered in xylophones and violins".^[18]

Track listing

Hold On Now, Youngster...

No.	Title	Length
1.	"Death to Los Campesinos!"	2:52
2.	"Broken Heartbeats Sound Like Breakbeats"	3:35
3.	"Don't Tell Me to Do the Math(s)"	3:22
4.	"Drop It Doe Eyes"	2:44
5.	"My Year in Lists"	1:51
6.	"Knee Deep at ATP"	2:49
7.	"This Is How You Spell "HAHAHA, We Destroyed the Hopes and Dreams of a Generation of Faux-Romantics""	4:20
8.	"We Are All Accelerated Readers"	2:54
9.	"You! Me! Dancing!"	6:48
10.	"...And We Exhale and Roll Our Eyes in Unison"	2:50
11.	"Sweet Dreams, Sweet Cheeks"	4:31
12.	"2007: The Year Punk Broke (My Heart)" (unlisted bonus track)	4:44
Total length:		42:57

Japanese bonus tracks

No.	Title	Length
13.	"The International Tweexcore Underground"	3:16
14.	"C Is the Heavenly Option" (Heavenly cover)	3:17
15.	"Police Story" (Black Flag cover)	2:15
Total length:		50:45

Remastered Deluxe Edition

No.	Title	Length
13.	"The International Tweexcore Underground"	3:12
14.	"We Throw Parties, You Throw Knives"	2:21
15.	"Frontwards" (Pavement cover)	2:21
16.	"In Accordance To Natural Law" (Bikini Kill cover)	0:30
17.	"How I Taught Myself To Scream"	2:47
18.	"Yr Boyfriend" (Casiotone for the Painfully Alone cover)	0:42
19.	"It Started With A Mixx"	1:20
20.	"The Eyebright Bugler" (Deerhoof cover)	0:45
21.	"Police Story" (Black Flag cover)	1:58
22.	"C Is The Heavenly Option" (Heavenly cover)	3:15
23.	"Clunk-Rewind-Clunk-Play-Clunk"	0:36
Total length:		1:02:00

Personnel

Musicians

Los Campesinos!

• Gareth Paisey – writing, vocals, glockenspiel
• Neil Beale – writing, guitar
• Tom Bromley – writing, keyboard, guitar, backing vocals
• Ellen Waddell – writing, bass, backing vocals
• Aleksandra Berditchevskaia – writing, backing vocals, keyboard
• Ollie Briggs – writing, drums
• Harriet Coleman – writing, violin, keyboards, string arrangements, backing vocals

Technical

• David Newfeld – recording (1, 2-9, 10-12, 14, 17, 19)
• John Goodmanson – mixing (1, 2, 4-8, 10-12, 17)
• Simon Francis – mastering
• Steve Davis – recording, mixing (18, 20, 22)
• Luke Jones – recording, mixing (15, 23)

Release history

Date	Country	Label (Cat#)
25 February 2008 (2008-02-25)	United Kingdom	Wichita Recordings (WEBB160)
1 April 2008 (2008-04-01)	United States/Canada	Arts & Crafts (A&C031)

Notes

• On the vinyl version of the album, the black disc (containing the 11 album tracks) should be played at 33⅓ RPM, whereas the orange disc, with bonus track "2007..." on it, should be played at 45 RPM.

Charts

Charts (2008)	Peak position
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[19]	97
UK Albums (OCC)[20]	72
US Heatseekers Albums (Billboard)[21]	45