Emotional indie-pop was all the rage a decade or so ago, but fell out of fashion – only to more recently fall back into fashion. From electronica softening its harder edges to rockers relaxing, it’s a sound whose time has come (again). So it’s the perfect time for the new album Ease My Mind, by the Swedish masters of the genre, Shout Out Louds.
Four years since their last, Optica (QRO review), it does feel like a long while, but that often happens with non-Anglophone acts that only tour the States rarely. That has made the band, which has struggled at times to get out of the shadows of others and make their own name in America, more forgotten, but has not dulled their shine. Indeed, the distance has made them seem all the more refreshing and necessary.
From the “This is just a beginning” of opener “Jumbo Jet”, Ease My Mind is a bright record, but not one that skimps on the sad emotions. SOL can be as bright and bold as Sol on killer songs like “Paola” and “Throw Some Light”, but also slower and sadder while still glowing on tracks such as the titular one and closer “Souvenirs”. And after Optica’s turn towards the electronic, even disco, Ease shifts back into the band’s wheelhouse, while still keeping some high electronica in pieces “Porcelain” and “Angel”.
QRO has long loved Shout Out Louds (QRO spotlight on) and wished them all the success in the world in America – if nothing else, so that they’ll play here more often. Once again, they deserve it.
