Merge Records
2007
Our Ill Wills
About This Album
Shout Out Louds' debut, Howl Howl Gaff Gaff, was a bracing slap of a record. Uplifting -- as in off your seat and onto your feet as well as raising your spirits -- and exciting, it was the work of a young, wild band in love with pop music and seemingly life itself. The follow-up from two years later finds a band trying to recover from heartbreak. Gloomy where Howl was sunny, autumnal where Howl was a summer afternoon, sad where the other was bright, Our Ill Wills is the work of tortured souls. The songs tell of tragic accidents, lost love, bleak futures, deeply held secrets, unwanted children, and headaches (in Nordic cities and on parents' couches) in words that slice deep into your heart, especially when sung by Adam Olenius in his choked, sadder-than-Robert Smith voice. There are few moments of light (the handclaps on "Normandie," the uptempo charge of "Tonight I Have to Leave It," the sweeping strings and peppy guitars on "South America"); the darkness envelops the listener like a cold blanket. Björn Yttling's production is masterful in this regard as he and the band conjure up a perfect atmosphere of gloom. The happy-go-lucky organs and tambourines of Howl are replaced by icy synths, the guitars are played crisply, the drums struck precisely, the keys on the keyboards pressed with heavy heart; precious little remains of the abandon and joy that Shout Out Louds previously exuded.
Track List (try tracks 2,3,4,5 and 7)

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