Shout Out Louds ‘Howl Howl Gaff Gaff’ (EMI)

You've got to hate the NME haven't you? There really is no other sensible response. I mean, yes, I know, we all go through a phase, we all buy it religiously for a period in our lives but - when you outgrow it - God, but you see it for what it is. A badly written comic populated by spaced out wannabes and (these days) fucking Pete Docherty. What has hating the NME got to do with Shout Out Louds, I hear you cry? Well. The NME said that Shout Out Louds 'sound like The Strokes, Belle & Sebastian and Bright Eyes rolled up into one super-lush folk-pop sandwich'. On acid, no doubt.

Shout Out Louds actually sound much better than that. There's a bleepy bloopy noise (which sounds like an old Atari console backfiring) and then they launch in with 'The Comeback' which you've more than likely heard already: grungy geetars, anthemic chorus, reedy vocals from frontman Adam Olenius and endearing simplicity make for a great pop track. And the band are good enough to fashion almost a dozen other smashers on 'Howl Howl Gaff Gaff' - ranging from the mildly Big Star-y 'Very Loud' to the country twang of 'Oh Sweetheart' (where Olenius repines like a jaded Neil Young). On 'Go Sadness' they fashion a funereal dirge that reminded this reviewer of both Mercury Rev and newer bands like Arcade Fire and The Engineers.

All in all, it's a bit of a treat. You know when that guy from The Killers said “it's indie rock'n'roll for me”? He was talking about the Shout Out Louds, okay?

words: Pete Wild