Categories : Music Reviews, Rock + Pop.
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Rating: 3 / 5 Reviewer: Nathan Atnikov |
If you were going to criticize the Shout Out Louds 2007 album Our Ill Wills, your angle would be the not-so-subtle Cure influences. In fact, influence might not be a strong enough word. But the album was good enough that it didn’t matter – in fact, I ranked it as one of that year’s best. Work starts with similar enthusiasm thanks to the joyous ‘1999,’ another Cure-baiting single about the fragility of youth and the power of nostalgia. But that’s pretty much where it ends this time around.
Three years ago, Shout Out Louds had the happy-with-just-a-tad-of-wistfulness thing down. Work, though, is monotonous. Almost all of the ten tracks are mid-tempo soft rockers that hinge too much on the same mood. There’s some respite, though. The aforementioned ‘1999’ and ‘Walls’ both capture the band at their absolute best – energetic, inspirational music offset by lyrical resignation. Those two tracks are enough to make you think this band has another classic in them down the road.
