Shout Out Louds
» Shout Out Louds - Manning Bar - Sydney University, NSW - August 22, 2007
» Shout Out Louds - Manning Bar - Sydney University, NSW - August 22, 2007
The Swedish five piece which brought us 2005’s fiercely angst-ridden song and Triple J favourite The Comeback has just released its second full length album, Our Ill Wills, and they are heading our way in August.
After the Shout Out Louds' success with debut album, Howl Howl Gaff Gaff, you could assume they would be feeling the pressure to come up with the goods once again. However, Shout Out Louds' keyboardist and backup vocalist Bebban Stenborg felt anything but anxious in the lead up to their new release.
“This time we were so excited to get out and be able to play new songs. We felt really confident about the whole thing I think.”
Close friend Bjorn Yttling of Peter Bjorn & John, often referred to as the sixth member of the Shout Out Louds, produced many of the tracks on their first album and has produced Our Ill Wills. Stenborg explains what she feels makes the two recordings distinct. “We probably focused more on individual sounds, particularly the rhythm parts on this album. We feel like the songs on this one are a bit more diverse than on the last one, but at the same time we really wanted to make the songs work well together, in a … cinematic way, if that makes any sense. My personal favourite track on Our Ill Wills is Hard Rain, the last track on the album. It sounds like a freight train asking you to dance with it.”
Stenborg has high hopes for the future of Our Ill Wills. “We liked the idea of leaving something behind like a testament. We would like this record to end up in time capsules all over the planet.”
The members of the Shout Out Louds have known each other since a young age. “Ted met Adam at a birthday party in kindergarten. I met Carl at soccer camp, and Eric went to school with Adam and Carl, and so did Ted and I. I was crazy about Elvis and the Bangles when I was six, Adam loved George Michael and Queen I think. The others liked Nintendo more. Much later on Ted and Adam started to talk about music at a party and they just decided to start a band. Then Carl joined, and then me and Eric. The five of us have spent so much time together during these past years and we have discovered many hidden aspects to each other’s personalities, as well as a sort of collective personality that has developed - a Frankenstein type of thing.”
When taking into consideration that Sweden has a population of only nine million people, the Nordic country has produced an astounding number of successful pop groups. Stenborg thinks this stems from being made to learn to play the dreaded recorder as a child. “When Swedish kids are in the second grade they are forced to learn how to play the recorder for at least two years, and then we can move on to a different instrument and learn it for free. It’s great. I suppose it’s an encouraging environment to grow up in musically. And we need the music here, to get through all of the darkness.”
It has been commented that the Shout Out Louds’ singer Adam Olenius sounds remarkably Robert Smith-esque on the new album. Stenborg jokes “Adam was actually going for something more like a mix between Neil Young and J Mascis. It wasn’t until Bob called him up and said he was his father that he realised that there were any similarities.”
The band is currently touring Our Ill Wills throughout Europe and America and they are looking forward to coming back to Australia and in particular to taking a few days off in Perth where bass guitarist Ted’s grandmother lives. “Last time we came to Australia we had an amazing time. The aquariums were to die for. We ate kangaroo stew and went to the beach. It was OK - the stew, I mean. The beach was fantastic!”
The band will be playing, Sydney 22 August, Brisbane 23 August, Melbourne 24 August and Perth 25 August. See the band’s website (www.shoutoutlouds.com) for ticket details.
