1, 2, Kung Fu!

A nice little homegrown album that sounds, among other things, a bit like Oasis and the Beach Boys, but then sounds entirely its own thing. Fuzzy without being ridiculous

The city pop titles are highly apropos and fairly modernized as well: The album has its hooks - Cigarette for me, evidently - and flows in its multiplicity about as well. Promising start; A shame to look back on the band and see, I assume, the pandemic gap bite and bite hard.

Over the course of the last 2 weeks I have revisited this album 3 times. I just could not get a good grasp of it. And I think I still cannot put my finger on this. I liked what I heard as it brings a fresh take on different genres I like, and they bled together pretty nicely. Nice pick of a band that I would othersise have totally missed.

They have interesting music and sound with a mix of seventies and modern influences but it seems to me that they never really take off, they don't get enough stimulation.

Fun discovery. Indie as it should be

This had some good vibes, but in general it did not quite appeal to me. Not enough edge for me.

Solid work from what seems to be a pretty obscure Welsh indie act. This is the kind of album that I'd be raising an eyebrow at if it were on the original list, but that I'm actively hoping to draw for the user albums.

Welsh wizards!

Person who picked this has immaculate taste.

Wow, I'm actually baffled that A. This didn't make the original list B. This didn't sweep the US Such a strong choice for a more modern record. I'm a huge fan.

Some exceptionally slick indie rock from a band that seemingly failed to capitalize on their rising success. Resume includes opening for Neil Young, receiving praise from Liam Gallagher, and getting featured on BBC Radio 1. Despite being the next big thing in UK music, they never really did anything else. It seems like frontman Davey Newington went on to be a session musician for other Welsh artists, which is a shame because his follow-up record would've cemented Boy Azooga as a leader in indie rock. Oh well. CONTENDER FOR THE LIST: Afraid not.

Really enjoyed this pick, a mix of things old and new that felt fresh, creative, and inspired. This is what the main 1001 canon should have been focused on, albums that mixed things up and pushed genre boundaries while still being instrumentally strong and actually enjoyable to listen to.

Now this is a nice start to the user albums. An unknown indie project that is as much funk as it is chill. This was a pretty solid album that I never heard of before and will revisit again. A nice modern take on indie music that blends genres with different styles. 6.9(nice)/10

This was fun. Clever, briskly paced and stylistically diverse in a way that feels really effortless. A lot of moving parts that shouldn't necessarily work together, but they do. Thanks for introducing me to this. Fave Songs: Waitin', Jerry, Face Behind Her Cigarette, Losers in the Tomb, Hangover Square, Loner Boogie

It's that 2010s/20s indie sound that's still prevalent in albums today! Very much like Tame Impala or Ty Segall with that neo-psychedelia style. Clean yet hazy, groovy and funky, atmospheric, energetic, fun & weird vibes yet chill, random sound effects, and a bright & happy mood. I quite like the effort they went into the production. There're a lot of creative ideas in here, and it kept me engaged wondering what stunt they were gonna pull next. I also like the mixing. There were a few subdued channels, and some conflicts, but for the most part, it was clear and distinguishable. If I were to be critical about it, I do find it to be commercial and directionless. The tracks felt a bit scattered, as if they were throwing things at the wall, and I can see what they were trying to go for in most cases, but hardly much of it really hits the bullseye. The moments they try to emphasize lack impact, and that's why much of it barely left a memory if not for the unusual sounds. A lot of hooks and riffs also felt like they were copying contemporaries. It sounded familiar yet off. Fine to listen to. Fine to put on an indie playlist. The weird effects will definitely gravitate ears from the casual listener. But it's not something I could fall in love with, and it leads me wanting to listen to the ones they try imitating who are able to fulfill that power and satisfaction I long for.

What a find! I loved this unheard of band.

a fook it, this will be a 5. i like it. good songs, wales boys, awesome cover, great length of album. whats not to luuuv?

British Indie! Glad you’re back!

This really worked for me. It's a great little album that I will be returning to. However is it essential? No. Absolutely not. My personal rating: 4.5/5 My rating relative to the list: 5/5 Should this have been included on the original list? No.

Solid listen. Maybe I enjoyed it more because it was the best of a week weak.

3.5

The first half is way stronger than the second, but still solid! Glad to get to know this album.

This was a very nice listen. I particularly enjoyed Waitin

Do the Welsh have something about odd band names? I definitely had a preconceived notion that has since been forgotten after 4 or 5 songs... I tried avoiding the geographic comparison but I really can't not hear a lot of Super Furry Animals as I'm listening to this album, and I....might like these guys more. This is great - melodic and dreamy with an undefinable touch of mystery; maybe that dreamlike quality in each song without going down too deep of any overly-emo/mbv route. As much as I've occasionally been annoyed by mostly-obscure one-offs in the user suggestions (I've harboured this perhaps unfair desire to have these albums primarily be glaring omissions from the original book and/or impactful in music history) I have to admit I've discovered more than a few that I'm surprised by - and will put <checks band name for the 3rd time> Boy Azooga near the top. The album drifts a little at the end but not enough to spoil a good listen. This is the kind of band I'd have liked to be part of - currently residing in the where-are-they-now file? I need more! I'll absolutely be listening to this one again. 8/10 4 stars IMO: Belonged in the book? No.

Rock. Indie Rock. Pues muy bonito.

I like the name of the album and of the band. Wasn't wild about the music on first listen but tried again louder and that did it.

One quite likes the fuzzy/blurry softness that wrappers the hooky bounces, the sweet swirling when dreamy pop drifts across indie rock. "Face Behind the Cigarette," "Jerry," "Hangover Square," and "Waiting" are among the plus-plus songs. Wonder how Tame Impala feels, though – influencer or influencee (one would have to check the timelines). Strong choice – thanks, recommender. As this is right up one's alley, one wishes there were a lot more like this on list proper.

Had never heard of this artist at all. More fun and moved a bit more than I was expecting when I saw the "Dream Pop" genre affixed with it. I enjoyed this for sure.

3.5

Funky music, actually! A pleasant suprise

I've spent a lot of times singing the praises of Scottish pop rock bands here, and perhaps I should extend that circle to include the Welsh here. This album just works great. It feels fresh, and it kept me interested the whole time. I'm not sure what's going on with this band, but they should put out another album 4/5

Welsh Run DMC meets The Beachboy? Sounds like exactly like the kind of thing I need in my life. I do like this, but just not as much as I was hoping I would. Good but not great.

Maybe a little too whimsical in places, but I enjoyed this overall.

I checked the lists of the person who submitted this LP and it looks like even a broken clock can be right twice a day. Ouch, that one was mean, I readily admit it. Yet if I can only argue with around 15 choices of albums in this person's highest-rated selections from the original list (not so bad out of 76 LPs), there are so many gems in the lowest-rated one that I just can't bring myself to adopt a conciliatory tone here. Also, hitting under the belt seems fair given the edgelord vibes in some of the short reviews left by this particular user. "1,2 Kung Fu" indeed! You reap what you sow. At least, that situation allows me to keep it short and (bitter)sweet for once. In all fairness, *1,2, Kung Fu* is an excellent little indie album, and it goes to a lot of interesting directions while keeping the whole shebang surprisingly tight and cohesive. Davey Newington's neo-psychedelia can harness Air, Ty Segall and Andy Shauf with equal ease. And so many songs in the album are catchy and memorable. So kudos for the suggestion, I absolutely mean it. I'll be on the lookout in case Boy Azooga finally manage to release *2,3, Tai Chi*. 4/5 for the purposes of this list of essential albums. 9/10 for more general purposes (5+4) Number of albums from the original list I find relevant enough to be mandatory listens: 465 Albums from the original list I *might* include in mine later on: 288 Albums from the original list I won't include in mine: 336 ---- Number of albums from the users list I find relevant enough to be mandatory listens: 20 (including this one) Albums from the users list I *might* select for mine later on: 32 Albums from the users list I won't select for mine: 63

May 15, 2025 again HL: "Breakfast Epiphany", "Hangover Square", "Waitin'", "Face Behind Her Cigarette", "Jerry" This is their only album & their website is down, so I feared the worst for this band-- until their Instagram revealed they're still kicking and doing shows around Cardiff, so-- good for them. The info under the YouTube comment for "Breakfast Epiphany" cites such inspirations as diverse as Caribou (a CANADIAN), Serge Gainsbourg & Broadcast, so it's a perfect intro to the rest of the album and its chill blend of alt-rock. Hope the 2nd album is even better

This is pretty good, I guess. Modern-sounding and nicely structured.

This is pretty rad. at the very least its better than fully half of the Brit pop on the regular list.

Enjoyed this

Exceptionally Welsh, and very very good. Sounds like SFA and Ash, but never so much that it sounds derivative - just hints of influence. A real treat which I had never heard before - thanks for suggesting it!

A fresh sound that I liked a lot!

This ended up being much better than expected from the description. Listened to it twice and I was liking it more after the second.

I was listening to this and thinking this is very Super Furry Animals meets Phoenix. I was almost disappointed when I found out they were Welsh! There are worse influences to have, this is a fun album!

Really approachable. Alt rock with strong pop sensibilities. The music really shines here, with engaging rhythms and fun harmonies. Loner Boogie is a great example that just gets the driving beat going. Enjoyed.

This was a super fun one. Just some solid contemporary indie rock. It's very eclectic and some of it blurs together for me but I really liked the last song and I listened to the album radio for about 4 hours while I worked on law school applications lol.

"Modern" music (6 years old is super modern to me). Really nice, cool, listenable. Reminiscent of Tame Impala. A Welsh indie band. Very enjoyable. Rating: 4.5 Playlist track: Jerry Date listened: 23/09/24

I really enjoyed it

Great choice. I listened to this when it first came out and liked it a lot. Ended up fading from my memory, but really glad to see it pop up here.

Rating: 7/10 Best songs: Loner boogie

Strong indie album

Great one

Ey I know this one! 4

Never heard of them. Enjoyed the album.

Very nice! Reminds me a bit of the Eels. 4 stars.

8/10. Hey, I kinda liked this one!

Tame Impala if Kevin Parker didn’t forget the guitar existed back in 2015.

Decent enough to listen to the whole thing. Singer sounded bored and that makes it kind of boring. I liked the drums and the last 90 seconds album was the best part.

I’ve never heard of Boy Azooga before, so to mix things up, I’m going to go into this album completely blind (no Wiki, no user reviews). Based on the cover, I’m guessing that this is a Japanese pop album, so if I’m wrong, I’m going to be in for quite a shock. Let’s jump in! Well, this was definitely not a Japanese pop album, but in fact a Welsh indie rock album. After the initial shock of my completely wrong expectations wore off, I settled in and found this album fairly enjoyable. “Breakfast Epiphany” was pretty hypnotic, and I found myself pulled in by the opening rhythms. The main melody was really gentle, and I enjoyed the dreamy vibe. “Loner Boogie” was pretty infectious too, and I really enjoyed that bass sound and the drumming. “Waitin’” was really good too, and I loved the gentle synth tones of the verses and the dance-ier synth tones of the chorus as well. Other than those three songs though, the rest of the album felt like filler to me. It was nice filler, but most of this album felt like it just kind of happened. While this album was pretty middle of the road for me, I’m shocked that this didn’t find a wide audience in the states. 1, 2, Kung Fu was enjoyable while I was listening to it, but I found it to be a bit forgettable overall.

It was fine. Nothing really stood out, but nothing really made me upset

This started off really well and then kinda trickled off into mediocrity. No idea why you'd put this on a list.

Overall this was ok, nothing super exciting about this one but at least it’s easy to listen to.

Really interesting piece of work. Falls away a bit but has its moments up front.

3, 4! no more!

Very generic 2010s rock, you'll probably hear every big alt-rock band from that era in this album, but that doesn't necessarily mean it's bad.

Bit eclectic but it had it's moments.

Never had of this. It was good.

I think this has good production and lots of potential, but it was too repetitive. They could have done a lot more. Sounded good, but could get annoying. 3/5

Favorite songs: Face Behind Her Cigarette, Loner Boogie, Sitting on the First Rock From the Sun Least favorite songs: Breakfast Epiphany II 3/5

This was interesting but can't say I'd go for it again.

1, 2, Kung Fu! is alright by me, not entirely stuff I like but with enough influence from other genres to keep me interested. I don't think it all works, even for such a short album it meanders a bit, but a strong start and finish gets you a fair way. 3.

British dream pop that will probably appeal to fans of the Lemonheads.

Not as Welsh as some Welsh albums come, but still quite Welsh indeed. It was quick, rather fun and at times quite clever. Most of the times it was just a nice background album while I was doing other stuff. Liked it, didn’t love it.

Actually, it didn't stick with me but in the moment I enjoyed it

A fun and funky indie project from a Welsh band with a Vegas aesthetic, with a nice variety of danceable and chill songs. I kind of wish they were mixed up a bit more, as the slower and longer songs are all lumped together at the end meaning the album feels a bit like it’s losing momentum as it goes on. But the songs themselves are a lot of fun, and it’s always great to come across some bangers on here that I’d never heard of

A bit of Tame Impala, a bit of Britpop. Not something I'll probably ever think about again, but it was pretty good I guess.

It is a mish-mash of lots of interesting influences which meld together into an interesting experience rather like a cult movie of groovy cliches. I like it despite it not being something I would normally listen to.

Ok

It didn’t grab me.

Real nice

Pretty good

Very fun album, I particularly liked Face Behind Her Cigarette.

Fine little indie rock type album. Not sure what about it makes it a "must listen," but it was certainly an easy listen.

I listened to the album twice three weeks ago and today I cannot remember a thing about it. It's a fine album nothing more.

Pretty good. Got lots of things going on in it. The organ/synthesizer was interesting.

What a weird and fun listen

I mean it’s alright but why

Despite the complete lack of Kung Fu, and the fact that this is yet ANOTHER Indie joint from the UK (which I believe is a locale/genre far overrepresented on the O.G. list...), I like it. It's cool. I won't out it on again or save any of the tracks, but I won't kick it off the speakers if I hear it come on in future mixes.

Good album from a band I’ve never heard of. They expertly walk the line between psychedelia, Britpop, early 2000s British alternative, baroque pop, and ambient rock. Despite this great mix of genres, I felt like this album didn’t go as far as it could have. I kept waiting for it to pay off and though it was still good, it just didn’t have the release I was expecting as the textures and sounds built and developed.

Nice fun album, doesn't make a huge splash but does do interesting things with electronica sounds alongside standard indie guitars. 3.2

Quite good Welsh indie pop. The loud buzz-saw guitar in the last song was a big and enjoyable surprise.

Put it on the official list. It belongs there. A real hidden gem.

These guys are like Blur's little nephews.

Weird mix of genres here, not really any I like though. Harmless alternative stuff. 3/5.

Fun band name and album title, chill tunes

Solid, energetic indie pop - nothing particularly groundbreaking but I listened happily and would again.

I don’t really have anything negative to say but same for positive. I see why people like it, but not for me necessarily.

Indie rock, Dream pop. Rollo. Un 2.

Perhaps I just wasn’t in the mood on the day, but this had very strong run-of-the-mill indie vibes in my mind. Really nothing that grasped me.

I don’t think I hated this but tbh I can’t remember what it sounded like at all and it has only been 24 hours. Do what you will with that information.

Indie rock, Dream pop. Rollo. Un 2.

Yeah. Hunh. Not necessarily the most interesting album. It’s ok. Hunh.