Read a random post
“The Comeback” – Shout Out Louds
(Words: Adam Olenius, music: Shout Out Louds, available on Howl Howl Gaff Gaff, Capitol 2005)
Even if they don’t come to mind right away as a personal favorite, it’s fair to say that I’m a fan of Shout Out Louds. I’ve enjoyed each of their three albums more than the previous record. Tonight, I realized that I consider one of their songs (“1999”) as one of my favorites of this nearly half-completed year. I even realized that I wrote about this band in this blog’s second entry – before pretty much every single band that I’ve loved my entire listening life. I only qualify my fandom because it seemed to sneak up on me.
I suppose it relates to the way the band puts together their songs. “The Comback,” for instance, isn’t flashy or overly dramatic; instead, it lays out its melody with few frills. There are some nice embellishments, in particular the quick guitar work near the end of the solo section, but generally the band pushed the melody to the forefront and lets it carry the song’s weight. I realize this might sound like a backhanded compliment, but in this instance its straightforward nature helps the melody linger even after the song ends. Rather than call it “simple,” I’d prefer selective, as the band knows when to toss a curveball and make it effective. When they do, these embellishments aren’t lost in sensory overload. It’s easy to overlook a band that makes spectacular songs seem unspectacular, but only while the music isn’t playing. When one of their records spins, the admiration returns.
More on Shout Out Louds: Allmusic | Amazon MP3 | Emusic | Last.fm
