What if Lou Reed recorded New York in 1995 . . . and in Welsh? Yeah. Just like that. Los Blancos hail from Carmarthenshire, Wales, and they play a VU-inspired form of noise pop that sure does sound familiar.

Los Blancos Llond Llaw (Libertino)

The songs themselves seem to be character studies, even though almost all the lyrics are Welsh. The music is telling stories, and I imagine the lyrics do, too. The song structures tend to rise and fall like a short story, and I have a pretty good idea of what's going on even though I can't understand a word.

If you told me ten years ago that I'd review three Welsh-language albums within the course of 12 months (or so), I'd have laughed. I did some poking around, and I can't say for sure whether or not local language music is a coming thing in the U.K. I can say that what I'm hearing is inventive and creative. Los Blancos definitely fit that description.

Crunchy and noisy, with enough raggedy hooks to bring a smile or three. And just enough of an insistent tempo to drive some distraction. This is one of the best expressions of this musical style (somewhere between the Ex and Yeah Yeah Yeahs, if my description isn't clear enough) I've heard in some time. Just enough to put my neck in a brace.

Jon Worley