Los Albertos | Ska | Brighton | Punk | Dance | Gigs | Alternative Act

Los Albertos - Edinburgh Festival August 2007

"Anyway, enough of that. We'd better get on with tonight's reviews-fest. Although Christabel says I have to remark on how brilliant Los Albertos are first. Which they are. I know this because we've given them glowing reviews at the Brighton Fringe in the past. Alas, as the house band on Late N Live last week, they didn't actually get any reviews this time, most reviewers being incapable of reviewing at 3am in the morning. But to rectify that, if you're reading this guys, feel free to quote "'bloody marvelous', Christabel Anderson, ThreeWeeks" on all future flyers. Such practice will, as far as we can see, comply with all EU regulations and the police will be fine with it, just as long as you leave those fake bombs at home.

by "Three Weeks" on the Festival

Los Albertos - 19th July 2007

If you like ska, you'll love Los Albertos. If you don't like ska, you'll still love Los Albertos. You'll gasp at the intricacy of their threepiece brass harmonies, as they burst through tight-clenched rhythms and soar off far into the jazz stratosphere. You'll smile wildly as you watch the spectacle of this six-piece group casually bobbing up and down while somehow blasting out incredibly accomplished, but overwhelmingly upbeat, music. My only regret is having nothing to add to the Los Albertos debate: everyone says they're fabulous. I concur.

Concorde 2, 19 July with the Buzzcocks

✌✌✌✌✌ - 5 Star Review

Billy Imrie

Spiegel Tent, May 6th 2006 - 3 reviews

"The word “line-up” when referring to musicians in a band was never quite so apt as when describing the feel-good, energising spectacle that is Los Albertos.

The entire band, comprising tenor sax, alto sax, trumpet, guitar, bass & drums took centre stage; a literal line-up of performers, creating a musical grin across the face of the Spiegeltent!

Whilst the dance floor was heaving from about the 3rd song onward, the music seemed also to reach into the far recesses of the venue, causing heads to nod as far as the eye could see.

Los Albertos' set includes songs about a trip to the Dentist, the nice man Nick who lives next door and falling in Love in Brighton as well as a little ditty sung by the Trumpeter in which he boldly declares “I wanna leave the band!”

All this blatant silliness is backed up by the band's obvious musical talent evident in their fantastic four-part sung harmonies, tight-as-you-like changes and instrument swapping.

The only girl in the band and one of the sax players, as well as singing and playing her horn with sass and panache confidently wields a melodica in a number of tunes, adding another dimension to the band's sound.

A band to make you smile and keep you bouncing all night long, this is original happy ska with a sound something akin to “The Specials”, with a modern-day flavour. The Spiegeltent provided the perfect venue for a spot-on ska band and a great start to my Brighton Festival 2006!"

Martina Tiziani, BBC Southern Counties Review - bbc.co.uk/southerncounties/content/articles/2006/ 05/09/los_albertos_review_feature.shtml

Los Albertos in The Spiegeltent was like the world's best party, beautifully gift-wrapped and left in the middle of Brighton for all to enjoy.

Spreading more good vibes than a dancing monkey handing out tequila shots, they played an uplifting, horn-driven mix of swing, jazz, ska and drum'n'bass, with a set of mainly original tracks.

Drinking and joking their way through the set, the band looked like there was nowhere else in the world they'd rather be than the Spiegeltent and the feeling was infectious. With songs of cheeky rascals, driving a van, while not getting a tan and hankerings for a booze take-out - "three bottles of Blue Nun and two crates of Stella" no less - this was Chas and Dave meets Bad Manners, led by Count Basie.

Cheekiness aside, they are multiinstrumentalists, who share lead vocals, creating a super-tight, all-consuming sound. Afterwards, as I sat outside in the Spiegel Garden, sipping beer and soaking up the festival atmosphere, it occurred to me Los Albertos might just be my new favourite band.

Leyla, The Argus Festival Review - www.theargus.co.uk/the_argus/the_guide/FESTIVAL_REVIEW29.html

The Spiegeltent had its curtains well and truly blasted open on Saturday night by brass-blaring Brighton based hipsters Los Albertos. With an inventive six-piece fusion of ska, punk and swing jazz which infectiously raised both spirits and the roof, the power of these guys' music and their wonderful rich sound truly filled the tent with a foot-stompin atmosphere that nearly made me shed my skin. Feeling fresh and funky, the trumpets and saxophones fully complimented each other, creating a wall of sound that bounced around the tent spreading smiles and feet on the dance floor. Wonderful up-beat music that deserves recognition, catch them if you can.

tw rating: 4/5

O.P., Three Weeks Review - brighton.threeweeks.co.uk/detail_review.asp?id=2567

Joogleberry Playhouse, 2nd June 2006

Men in trilbies singing dizzyingly infectious anthems about dead goldfish can only mean Los Albertos.

The "foot-stomping" tag with which their riotous flurry of ska, drum and bass and swing is usually summarised always falls several superlatives short of capturing the insane fun of their gigs.

With tooting tales of pikeys, rascals and the dangers of running out of beer, they could be Brighton's answer to Madness were they not so incomparable in their own right, their soundtrack to inebriation held together by their supreme tightness as musicians and cleverly crafted lyrics.

This was a more relaxed evening than their recent triumph at the Spiegeltent, but remained relentlessly feelgood enough to spark the customary fear of a stage invasion from the bouncing hordes at the front.

Their new album is ready to go, but experiencing the party live should be some sort of law for anyone capable of cracking a smile.

Ben Miller, The Argus - www.theargus.co.uk/the_argus/the_guide/MUSIC_REVIEW1.html

Beautiful Days, 21st August 2005

Ska classics, Los Albertos, Took to the main stage on this scorching day. Despite the heat, the crowd pushed forward to skank along to one of the best in the business. The cheerful songs went hand in hand with the fantastic weather and the summer atmosphere was made complete. Their years of experience shone through their crisp sound and every band member knew their place. The almost salsa grooves of Los Albertos were a real sound of the summer and beautiful days agreed.