Ivan & Alyosha's album was released today, and I'm liking it the more I listen to it. Early reviews rate it
favorably.
“Be Your Man” is a smart choice to start folk-pop group
Ivan & Alyosha's first full-length album. It's incredibly charming
and very lovely. It builds into a bigger, celebratory moment at the end
with a clattering tambourine, catchy guitar hook and quiet “ahh"s
without feeling overwrought. It's the sign that this will be emotionally
charged folk-pop, but not the kind we've become accustomed to lately
that packs so much grandiosity that it stops meaning anything.
The AV Club says that the new release by the Shout Out Louds makes them
relevant.
When Shout Out Louds’ debut album, Howl Howl Gaff Gaff,
was released in the U.S. eight years ago, the Swedish indie-pop act was
part of two concurrent waves: Swedish indie-pop itself, and the trend
of fresh-faced musicians crowding onto a stage to make a triumphant
racket. That Shout Out Louds are still around and still viable—now
releasing their fourth album, Optica—is a testament to the
songwriting acumen of frontman Adam Olenius and the band’s ability to
translate the core sound of their favorite Cure and Smiths songs into
something grand and modern. Some Shout Out Louds songs are merely
pleasant, but others—like Optica’s “14th Of July”—are a real rush, building from stinging art-funk to choruses that erupt, spectacularly.
Next Tuesday features more great releases at a time with lots of exciting music!
