Month: April 2010

Not long after the release of their second album, 2007’s Our Ill Wills, and months of relentless touring, Sweden’s Shout Out Louds decided to take a six-month break, and its five members—frontman Adam Olenius, bassist Ted Malmros, guitarist Carl Von Arbin, drummer Eric Edman and keyboardist Bebban Stenborg—spread out between Melbourne, Los Angeles and Stockholm. However, despite the distance, it wasn’t long before Olenius was writing new material and sending it out to his bandmates, who all contributed from their remote locations. As a result, the quintet has returned with a fresh, simple sound on third full-length Work (out now on Merge), which the band is currently supporting on a tour of North America and Europe. Shout Out Louds will be guest-editing magnetmagazine.com all week. Read our new Q&A with Olenius and our 2007 feature on the band.

Stenborg: I may burn at the stake for this, but I think it’s about time we bring some good old-fashioned frivolousness back into our worried, whipped world. Cigarette trays, champagne in wobbly crystal cups, hairspray, a highball for the pregnant lady, bonbon dishes, unlimited cheese, neat drinks, loud music, cigars in overflowing ashtrays and children spooning foam off the Chinaman’s beer. I feel like many of us have somehow embraced some vague idea that self-denial, worry and guilt in themselves serve a purpose for the greater good, and I think it’s a terribly misdirected use of energy. Instead, I think we should make an effort to keep informed, help where it’s needed in any way we can, then feel free to irrationally celebrate in gratitude over what we have rather than to waste our time worrying over petty things like political correctness.

Video after the jump.