Yahoo! Music Review

Released on 28/04/08
Label: Weekender

If Gordon Brown is serious about reviving our stuttering economy he could do worse than launch an immediate investigation into how Sweden, with its population of less than ten million and its spirit-crushing climate, manages to produce approximately one amazing, joyous pop act every other day. If we could copy them we could once again see a day when we export something other than reality TV formats and badly behaved tourists.

The brilliantly named Shout Out Louds - who won a lot of hearts when they first emerged in 2005 - are in the same vein of dizzy, breathless pop as Those Dancing Days, with an added streak of Peter, Bjorn & John melancholy. The sound is pure Spector, a lush mix of rumbling drums, sugar sweet strings and impassioned vocals that whirl by. Adam Olenius' smudgy vocal style does occasionally sound like he has a mouth full of cotton wool, and the chorus doesn't quite seal the deal, but it's hard to quibble with something so charming.

    by Jaime Gill