During the aughts, there was a ‘Swedish Invasion’ of lovely Scandinavian indie-pop, which unfortunately crested and subsided. One of the best acts of that era were the Shout Out Louds, and even if they never became the big name in Anglophone ears that they should have been, they’re still making wonderful indie-pop, like on the new, if limited, House.
At only eight songs, just over thirty minutes, House isn’t the big, post-COVID return from the band that one might have hoped for, and doesn’t have quite the bright earworms that they’ve done in the past. Instead, it opts largely for sadder fair, such as the tragic & beautiful opener “As Far Away As Possible”, or the soft memories of “Sky and I (Himlen)”. There are relative moments of hope, like “June” or glowing closer “Sometimes Sometimes”, as well as more laid-back reflections in “High As a Kite” and “Mixed Up”.
These days, people still being around, having manage to endure the twenty-first century and are still here, is kind of all that one can ask for – particularly in indie music. So, celebrate that Shout Out Louds are still in the House.
