Shout Out Louds - Work (Album)

From the second you turn this CD on, you need to turn the volume to 11. It starts pounding in the way that gears you up to the best party you ever will go to, but holds back just enough to drive you crazy.

Undoubtedly, this is all leading you to a Shout Out Louds house party in heaven where everyone wears jelly shoes and high waisted shorts and says “Hallooo, I love your hair!”

Your patience is soon rewarded with electric piano chords chiming and ironically you feel like you’ve entered a Molly Ringwald 80s teen flick, as the vocals come in on the opening track ‘1999’.

Lots of percussion builds up the dance track that I can only imagine are souvenir spoons tapping crystal chandeliers and hand spun earthenware mugs by local village children. I love every minute of it!

The ooh oohs in the chorus and the staccato piano just makes you want to dance like its (cough) 1999. It’s like summer, driving in cars with all the windows down. It’s the last day of school. It’s kissing girls at the beach when they’re not looking and running off while her boyfriend chases you down the sand - only to look back and see her blush and smile cheekily at you.

It’s dancing in the supermarket queues to music in your head. It’s modern, retro and undeniably Shout Out Louds. Though it’s possibly 3 months too late. It would have been fantastic to hit our shores before summer. They would have played every summer festival and be on everyone’s stereo for the ride home.

Or were they very clever and didn’t want to compete with Phoenixes latest slick, French-pop juggernaught? Because I know there are some “people” out there who would happily lump all those Euros bands into the same basket and assume Phoenix, Peter, Bjorn and John and now Shout Out Louds are the same. You sicken me.

If you’re one of those people who like comparisons, here they come. It’s got a bit of an overall reverby sound quality like M83’s latest album. You know, it kind of sounds like its 80s though you can’t find a single 80s artist who sounds like it.

Groove Armada’s new song ‘I Wont Kneel’ has been painted by the same brush. There must have been a special on the little box that makes that sound recently. In any case going from the last two Shout Out Louds records it’s a sweeter and gentler affair with less rock guitar but all the passion and singalong loveliness that you know and love from the band.

The guitars have been minimised a pinch and the songs stripped back to their core which enhances the hooks and doesn’t hide them in too much overdriven guitar. There are lots of pianos and strings filling in melodies which is most evident on ‘Paper Moon’ where the strings are all swooshy and lush like a warm doona.

‘Walls’, which you would normally expect to go into guitar overdriven glory as the song builds to a crescendo, holds back in the most beautiful way making you feel like you are about to jump out of a plane. Awesome.

The album also reminds me of The Magic Numbers at times with the layered choruses, fem backing vocals and the thumping bass beat. That’s what really gives this album its energy. It’s there from the beginning and doesn’t let up.

‘1999’, ‘Fall Hard’ and ‘Show Me Something New’ can all be added to your summer dance playlists and are clear radio favs. ‘Walls’ and ‘The Candle Burned Out’ provide some great build up and lyrics that make you sing along like you’ve heard them your whole life.

After making you dance all day, they finish the album by gently walking you home late that night. Skipping through puddles with you while you hold onto your high heels. A lone busking trumpeter pops out a groovy jazz melody in some distant underpass.

Nice.

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