First Impressions: Shout Out Louds - Our Ill Wills

Shout Out Louds – Our Ill Wills [Out Sept 11th via Merge. Produced w/ Bjorn of Peter Bjorn And John.]

1. Tonight I Have to Leave It [3:33] <- Key track
2. Parents Livingroom [3:52]
3. You Are Dreaming [3:29]
4. Suit Yourself [2:58] <- Key track
5. Blue Headlights [4:08]  
6. Impossible [6:48] <-Key track
7. Normandie [3:22]
8. South America [5:01]
9. Ill Wills [1:50]
10. Time Left for Love [3:16] <-Key track
11. Meat is Murder [2:14]
12. Hard Rain [7:26]

The key word for this record is Nostalgia with a capital ‘n’. The subject matter is a throwback to those good ol' days of yesteryear (they were good, weren't they?) and the band is back for their sophomore effort sounding as if there was a lot of The Cure devotion on board the tour bus. The first single "Tonight I Have to Leave It" is a successful song, though much more upbeat than nearly every track on the album aside from the rollicking "Time Left For Love."

Fans of Howl Howl Gaff Gaff will find something comfortingly familiar in "Normandie", while the nearly seven minute "Impossible" includes a chord-bending string section. "Suit Yourself" features gorgeous backing vocals from keyboardist Bebban Stenborg and on "Blue Headlights" she takes over lead vocal duties for a delicate and intimate track. Bebban also duets with Adam Olenius on the driving closer "Hard Rain." All in all, it's an interesting series of solid pop songs. And no, "Meat Is Murder" is not a cover of The Smiths song.