Shout Out Louds Our Ill Wills by: Al Cottrill Mon:23-Jul-07 Label: Merge Year: 2007 WB rating 78 out of 100

“Argh, reviewing Shout Out Louds again. It’s stuck in my head and it won’t come out”. That was the text message I sent to my girlfriend. They’ve been banned from the stereo in her presence since I lent her their debut Howl Howl Gaff Gaff. She doesn’t sleep well as it is, and that one robbed her of enough slumber to cause me danger. Shout Out Louds’ music is severely infectious, and as offensive to my diurnal aspirations as the blinking lights of the souvlaki shop outside my window. It is with something far beyond apprehension that I approached their follow-up, Our Ill Wills.

Joining the Swedish quintet on production is Björn Yttling, singer, bassist and keyboard-player of compatriots Peter Björn and John. The John of that eponym, John Eriksson, also features, playing percussion on eight of twelve tracks. The result of Yttling’s production is a sound shining with production and textured depth, and huge compared to their debut – Howl Howl sounds positively low-fi in comparison. The inclusion of a four-piece string section on six tracks is typical of this shift, but as is the want of richness, can on occasion cloy. When well executed on a fantastic track like ‘You Are Dreaming’ it is perfectly integrated, sweeping the song up and out of its racing surrounds, the strings buffeting the chorus to stunning pop heights. Incessantly catchy, it perfectly camouflages the song’s message: “Say what you say, I am listening, I am all ears/But if you still believe I’m thinking of you/You are dreaming”. However, when overused, like on ‘South America’, we are bestowed a trite parody of ‘80’s continental pop. These discretions though are few and far between, for the most part the extended instrumentation is perfectly adapted to Shout Out Louds’ joyous melodies, and the majority of Our Ill Wills is as impossibly catchy, and dangerously memorable, as its predecessor.

The first few moments of the album perfectly embody Shout Out Loud’s newfound love of layered instrumentation. Bursting open with chamber pop percussion and orchestral strings, ‘Tonight I Have To Leave It’ is as close to a modern ‘In Between Days’ as could be written. Singer Adam Olenius sounds more like Robert Smith each day, and dancer ‘Normandie’ takes plenty of cues from ‘Close To Me’ in its jerking beat, handclaps and rustling vocals. There is one somewhat perturbing development afflicting a listener’s comfort: singer Adam Olenius’ newfound enunciation difficulties. Sometimes a lisp, sometimes a slur, once heard it is almost impossible not to notice and interferes with ‘Tonight I Have To Leave It’ (“Oh no, you’re not shorry”) and ‘You Are Dreaming’ (“Sthay what you sthay, I am lishtening”).

While the nervy tempos of their debut have been relaxed slightly, Our Ill Wills is still impelled by a racing beat. There are moments of respite, but if anything, they show the tenuous threads by which Shout Out Louds’ sound can hang. So much of their appeal is in the taut, rushing sound of their melodies that drive the songs and keep your attention chasing. When allowed to relax, the music slips back towards mediocrity and on a song like ‘Blue Headlights’ (where keyboardist Bebban Stenborg takes over vocals), the gentle instrumentation and feminine lilt could be any twee Euro indie-popsters. The tempo may be a welcome break, but Shout Out Louds need this rush as bad as a junkie. Olenius’ vocals are a feature, and work in tandem with the beat as it rushes faster than him, peaking higher and dropping lower, instilling the album with bubbling energy. Despite the lisp, he has a clear voice, and Shout Out Louds penchant for melodramatic slants on everyday life and relationship means it is perfect sing-along material; a dangerous combination with such fresh melody.

Flowing merrily through the high-hat disco beat of ‘Parents Living Room’, I’m From Barcelona-esque ‘Impossible’ and instrumental ‘Our Ill Wills’, and faltering slightly with the below-par ‘Suit Yourself’, sleepy ‘Blue Headlights’ and gratingly twee ‘South America’, Our Ill Wills reaches its finest pop gem, ‘Time Left For Love’. It contains every facet of this genre present and consummately executed – nearing a perfect pop song. From accented emotion to piano rolls, tambourine rattles and a dash of twee lyrics, it is completely charismatic. It is only a shame that Olenius’ voice is at its most blurred when he pleads “I lost my friends in an accident/I couldn’t believe what happened/And are you coming home tonight, and is there time left for love” before the songs breaks open with excitement, seizing the attention of even the most apathetic listener.

The 7.26 minutes of ‘Hard Rain’ caps the album. A distillation of the features that make Shout Out Louds so captivating, it might just show where they hope to end up. Almost an experimental duet, it is driven by computer-game synths that render a melody, while Olenius and Stenborg take turns rasping their respective parts. As it collapses into a swirling fuzz of distortion, the album peaks, drifting off on guitar and effects to its satisfied conclusion. The song is instilled with a mature restraint, and relying less on pure hooks, it is a hopeful portent of future direction. Lacking the raw bite of Howl Howl’s best tracks, Our Ill Wills is never going to be a groundbreaking watershed or long-cited reference point, but it is beautiful pop for the here and now: rich, shimmering, melodic, and above all infectious. It will be months until these tunes are forgotten, and peaceful again can describe my mind’s resting state.