Country: Wales
While bands like Pavement and Brian Johnstown Massacre aren’t clearly influences on most of the modern acts we see here in America, the impact of early 90’s alternative rock is still being felt around the world, and it’s no more present than in Carmarthenshire, South West Wales band Los Blancos. The five-piece indie rock group of old friends have been turning out guitar-centered tracks since 2018, and aside from their songs being in their native Welsh language, you might think you were back in 1993 listening to their music.
Take “Diogi” off their new EP DETHOLIAD O GANEUON TRADDODIADOL CYMREIG. Rootsy guitar lines and a slacker rock beat join together with mellow, harmonized vocals that bring to mind early Wilco. Then there’s “Mil O Eirie”, which brings some jangle to the jagged rhythm and sardonic bass line for a track that hits with some attitude (with a lyric delivery akin to Courtney Barnett).
There’s even a surfy quality to 2019 track “Cadw Fi Lan”, though the lackadaisical vocal delivery has Stephen Malkmus fingerprints all over it (though the almost-anthem chorus is more energized than most of Pavement‘s catalogue)”.
So if this style of indie rock is your thing, get familiar with Los Blancos. Listen to a couple of their tracks now in our World Watch Playlist!
The Indy Review 