Tonight I Have To Leave It

For those of you that haven't noticed, Sweden (especially Stockholm) has been pumping out the indie bands lately. Recently, bands such as The Knife, Radio Dept., Jose Gonzalez, and I'm From Barcelona have burst onto the indie scene. One of the reasons mentioned for the growing popularity is originality. Bands from Sweden seem to follow in nobody's footsteps, unlike some bands in the US and UK that try to follow the scene.

One thing pretty distinctive about indie music in Sweden is the emphasis on using very sweet melodies. Describing possible reasons for this, Andres Lokko, a Swedish journalist living in London, says "Because English is the language of pop music, there is always more emphasis in Sweden on melodies. And Sweden is cold, so maybe we need sweeter melodies."

Anyway, on to the Shout Out Louds. When Howl Howl Gaff Gaff was released a couple of years ago, it was all I could do to not burst into a rendition of "The Comeback" every other moment. I was often unsuccessful. The debut was full of ridiculously catchy songs from front to back. It stayed on heavy rotation on my iPod for quite a while. From raucous inspiring anthems such as the afore mentioned "The Comeback" to slower more emotional ballads like "A Track and a Train," the Shout Out Louds quickly became my favorite band from Sweden.

In April, the band's sophomore effort, Our Ill Wills was released across Europe. Unfortunately, the album isn't released in the U.S. until September. The album was produced by Björn Yttling, and it is really apparent in parts were alternate percussion parts come through. The percussion in "Tonight I Have To Leave It" is especially strong, with (perhaps) steel drums leading off the track and different pitched cowbells spicing the melody up.

The band also released an EP, Tonight I Have To Leave It, which is available on Emusic. I nabbed it right away, and I highly recommend all of you out there do so. In addition to the single the EP takes its title from, there are to remixes of the title track and two other songs that are both very good. Of course, I have some mp3's for you guys. "Streams of Whiskey" is a really great cover of the old Pogues song.

Shout Out Louds-Tonight I Have To Leave It
Shout Out Louds-Streams of Whiskey (Pogues Cover)