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Rating: "Our ill wills" is the second album by the Scandinavian band Shout Out Louds. It starts with an acoustic guitar riff that recalls (with a few less strums here and there) the way Jonny Marr plays it. The keyboard melody seems taken from a (good) outtake from the pop period of The Cure. Adam Olenius's voice does nothing to avoid reminding you of Robert Smith with that slight lisp on the "s" that is so distinctly Swedish. Bittersweet are the lyrics, captivating the melodies. But forget about the upbeat tracks that launched their debut.
The new work by the five from Stockholm appears more moderate in tempo but peppered with small midtempo gems. Composed of measured stops and tempered crescendos. What surprises is the craftsmanship of the song structures... all potential singles. Then there's Bebban Stenborg, she plays, sings, and writes (excellently) and is everything you could wish for from a Swede. Then there's the simply beautiful (this one truly a single) "Impossible", a track that made me discover this album (and almost forget the debut) with its violins all perfectly placed and, in the lyrics, the tales of a love that inevitably intertwine with existential ones.
For "South America", our band seems to dive into a folk-like and Cure/Smiths-esque song at the same time: a successful experiment. Instrumental is the almost title track "Ill wills" which can seem like a small pop gem lacking only the vocals but also, in a Veltronian way, a small acoustic bonsai that can stand on its own... Complete and equally beautiful is the percussive "Time left for love" with a chorus that calling it a killer in its perfection is not an exaggeration.
In short, yet another Scandinavian Bignami album of pop rock by excellent artists... it's clear now... there's a lot of it these days.
Among the weak points of the album, there's perhaps a muddiness of sound for a record that (in my opinion) shouldn't be deliberately too lo-fi. But it's an album that slowly grows on you... little by little, it piques your curiosity... and doesn't let you go.
Try it... it creates a pleasant kind of addiction.
Tracklist Lyrics and Videos
01 Tonight I Have to Leave It (03:33)
Don't come up to me and say you like it.
It's better if you say you hate it, that's the truth exactly.
When we go out dancing I don't want to be bothered,
I just want to be bothered with real love.
So I heard it's no good to run,
but it feels so much better now that it's done
and tonight I have to leave it.
So I've heard you know how to write it,
does it mean you're good at putting things on paper?
Rumours say that you're very sorry.
Oh no you're not sorry, no you're not.
So I heard it's no good to run,
but it feels so much better now that it's done
and tonight I have to leave it.
Why don't you give love?
Why don't you give love?
Tonight I have to leave it.
07 Normandie (03:22)
I jam my jacket off I've been searching for laurics and it makes me sweat I'm out and i find more coulors but This special headake makes me wanna quit Wanna quit Now it's said and done Say goodbye to people we don't know Go back to sleep Lets sail away to the beaches of normandie The lights are blinding my eyes Are you unhappy i am unhappy to Your neck smells just like hearst and Do you want someone, are you lonely to? Are You? Now it's said and done Say goodbye to people we don't know Go back to sleep Lets sail away to the beaches of Now it's said and done So never mind that never mind at all Go back to sleep Lets sail away to the beaches of normandie To normandie To many secrets to many ways I should have called her have i wait all night i came up sweet just find your name you stayed home i should have done the same Now it's said and done Say goodbye to people we don't know Go back to sleep Lets sail away to the beaches of Now it's said and done So never mind that never mind at all Go back to sleep Lets sail away to the beaches of normandie To normandie And oh oh oh oh.. To normandie
11 Meat Is Murder (02:14)
Oh, I'm fainting. I don't stand a chance.
Meat is murder, and I don't even dance.
Something is still worrying me tonight.
Oh, I'm falling.Nothing is working out.
And what comes out from my mouth
is nothing to worry about.
'Cause everything sounds miserable tonight.
I haven't said too much, have I?
There are things you should keep to yourself.
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