Shout Out Louds | Optica

Merge Records (2013)
By MICHAEL CHRISTOPHER  |  February 26, 2013

shoutoutlouds

Stockholm's Shout Out Louds have always been a curious but consistent act. They have been able to shift tones and themes with successive albums yet maintain unity on each. Past releases have had hopes for happiness, stark depression, and boasts of unrequited love, all with bouncy beats that often belied their lyrical nature. Here on Optica, their fourth, the Shouts attempt to balance all of the above with a decidedly decades-old sheen. There's electronics all over the place that don't reach back as far as, say, Cut Copy goes, which is the very reason it sounds more modern, and less '80s modern rock. "14th of July" gets into a sort of synth paradise, and "Where You Come In" has drums that would make Erasure jealous. But it's on "Blue Ice" that singer Adam Olenius reveals why it all works — the expressive conviction in his voice.

»  MICHAELCHRISTOPHER22@GMAIL.COM

SHOUT OUT LOUDS:: Paradise Rock Club, 967 Comm Ave, Boston :: May 11 :: 8 pm :: 18+ :: $20 :: 617.562.8800 or thedise.com

  Topics: CD Reviews , Shout Out Louds, review
| More


Most Popular
ARTICLES BY MICHAEL CHRISTOPHER
Share this entry with Delicious
  •   REX BROWN DELIVERS THE WORD ON PANTERA  |  March 20, 2013
    “No holds barred” and “warts and all” are typical qualifiers when it comes to rock-and-roll memoirs, but rarely do they fulfill the promise.
  •   PHOTOS: DEVOTCHKA AT THE HOUSE OF BLUES  |  March 13, 2013
    DeVotchKa performs live at the House of Blues on March 9, 2013.
  •   WHAT'S F'N NEXT? ALT-J  |  February 26, 2013
    Bands that have taken home the United Kingdom's Mercury Prize in the past have included Suede, Pulp, Primal Scream, and Arctic Monkeys.
  •   SHOUT OUT LOUDS | OPTICA  |  February 26, 2013
    Stockholm's Shout Out Louds have always been a curious but consistent act.
  •   WHAT'S F'N NEXT? CAVEMAN  |  February 20, 2013
    Most people are probably sick to death of Brooklyn being a hipster's paradise where dinks with moustaches tatted on their fingers drive fixed-gear bikes to Williamsburg bars to pay $6.50 for a can of PBR.

 See all articles by: MICHAEL CHRISTOPHER