give me a secret and i’ll tell you

Prior to hearing Work, the Shout Out Louds’ latest album, my familiarity with them was limited to one song, the exuberant “Tonight I Have to Leave It“. Work holds some similarities, playing with rhythms and putting a smile on your face, but the songwriting is decidedly more calculated and grown-up.

Work is cool, but not in the contrived and pretentious sense. Everything is played close to the chest, heavy-lidded with curls of smoke lapping at the edges. Easy beats, strings, horns, and piano inject jazz into the songs without the finished product falling anywhere near jazz as a genre; 80s indie and midwestern emo guitarwork are closer to the mark.

“Candle Burned Out” lacks bells and whistles, and that is exactly its charm. Other pleasures include “Moon” and “Fall Hard“, a banner for Work on the whole.

—

Work drops 02.23.10.
Download the track “Walls” here.