It’s no surprise that Swedish bands hold a special place in our collective hearts here. So, like many of you who email us saying “I can’t believe you haven’t posted band xyz,” I can’t believe we haven’t posted the Shout Out Louds. Well, that’s not exactly true; we’re used to being late on the typical blogosphere darlings. It appears that the Shout Out Louds didn’t survive the Capitol/Virgin merger as Merge Records released this new EP and the new album in September. All the better since the new label facilitated pairings with The Essex Green, among others (The Russian Futurists and Kleerup provide dancefloor versions), for collaborations and remixes.
OK, so I tried really hard not to mention The Cure here, but that’s just impossible. “Tonight I Have to Leave It” owes several riffs and melodies to a twenty-two year old Cure song “In Between Days.” Moreover, vocalist Adam Olenius nails Smith’s stuttering affectation with military precision. Regardless, the song is plenty strong enough to stand on its own. But I also suspect that in the future it will stand as the epitome of the overwhelming tendency by this decade’s indie-bands to plunder and steal from Robert Smith. Not that there’s anything wrong with it…
More Shout Out Louds posts on 3hive
www.mergerecords.com
www.shoutoutlouds.com
The song is good but there is a fine line between paying homage to your influences and out & out ripping off. I wonder how Mr. Smith feels about this song.
I don't know, I hear a little U2 in there as well…
As mentioned, the main guitar line is pretty similar to “In Between Days,” and the bridge of the song with the “give love” section sounds like Queen/Bowie “Under Pressure” to me. It’s a pretty fun listen, though.