Its been over two years since Swedish quintet Shout Out Louds released their acclaimed LP Howl Howl Gaff Gaff, and it will be another three months before the release of their sophomore effort Our Ill Wills hits shelves. The release of this EP has probably whet the appetites of fans and hipsters everywhere. The title track is a danceable, Cure-esque, pop ditty right out of our musical past. Clever percussion on the single could be producer Bjorn Yttling’s influence (Bjorn of Peter Bjorn & John), but it all comes together in a rather epic way. 80s dance night DJs might be sneaking this one into their sets soon. The only other new track here is the smarter, messier, and more distorted “Don’t Get Yourself Involved”, which finds the band discovering their own sensibilities. The last three tracks consist of one Pogues cover and two remixes of “Tonight I Have to Leave It”. The Pogues track is just filler for me, maybe more devoted fans will be interested in hearing The Essex Green and Shout Out Louds cover “Streets of Whiskey” rather straightly. Usually, remixes are throw away tracks, meant to be more filler on short EP’s; the band themselves don’t have much to do with the song so who cares really? Luckily, I decided to give these a go anyhow; Kleerup takes the single for a spin through mirror balled 8-bit dancehalls, intensified chord changes and Kraftwerk-like soundscapes. If the EP’s release is to pique folks’ interests, then I’m sure the lead track itself is quite enough to turn heads, though we will have to wait until September to see what the full length release has in store. The band will hit New York and California in mid July to road test the new material.
