Howl Howl Gaff Gaff, the debut album from Swedish indiepop faves Shout Out Louds, will be released in the U.S. on May 24. The three-song Very Loud EP is in stores now. And Shout Out Louds are currently featured in Rolling Stone's 2005 "Next List" of the best names to watch in music, film, fashion, etc. in the year ahead.
Starting out as a few old friends playing in a drafty Stockholm rehearsal space in 2002, recording 60s-era and American indie-inspired songs backed by a temperamental drum machine stuck on bossa nova, the band soon added a proper drummer and someone who actually knew how to play the Moog synthesizer they'd been toying with (they got lucky and recruited a classically-trained pianist with a Stooges obsession).
Shout Out Louds gave their very first demos to a close friend who promptly started a record company to release them in Scandanavia, which led to a popular series of singles, EP's and the passionately received Howl Howl Gaff Gaff album, which is now remastered with new songs for its U.S. release.
The title of Howl Howl Gaff Gaff comes from a drawing frontman Adam Olenius drew of two wolves howling at the top of their lungs (also where the band got their name). The "gaff gaff" part is basically Russian for "woof woof," so multilingual wolf/dogs is as good of an introduction as any.
Howl Howl Gaff Gaff is gloriously melodic, instantly memorable and romantic in a broad way - wrapped up in moments that are hopeful, sad, drunk, lovesick or might just make you dance around the room a bit. It's a true survey of the band's entire career to date, beginning with the catchy but weathered "The Comeback," the first song they ever wrote, and ending with ambitious, crescendo-building "Seagull," recorded just last year.
Inspired by the sounds of seagulls on a boat tour through the Archipelago, the song's natural-sounding ambiance was actually produced by recording a live sample of a sound from each instrument, then triggering the samples in tandem. It's a unique approach, and one that's right in line with the band's quest for fresh ways to convey relatively straightforward thoughts.
"Very Loud," whose title speaks for itself, begins with a country skip and quickly accelerates into an unchecked roar teeming with heart and longing. The delicate-sounding "Oh, Sweetheart" has a sweeping uplift that turns its sweet title into a grand proclamation. The gently strummed "Go Sadness" casts off its car keys, twinkles and gracefully fades out. And pure heartache has never been more danceable than on the pogo-worthy garage pop of "Shut Your Eyes."
Ultimately, Howl Howl Gaff Gaff is most endearing in its tuneful simplicity - singing, wishing and (yes) shouting its way into your heart.
Shout Out Louds, Howl Howl Gaff Gaff
1. The Comeback
2. Very Loud
3. Oh, Sweetheart
4. A Track and a Train
5. Go Sadness
6. Please Please Please
7. 100 Degrees
8. There's Nothing
9. Hurry Up Let's Go
10. Shut Your Eyes
11. Seagull
Shout Out Louds are:
Adam Olenius - vocals/guitar
Carl von Arbin - guitar
Ted Malmros - bass
Bebban Stenborg - keyboards
Eric Edman - drums
Preview songs and videos at: www.shoutoutlouds.com/sampler
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