“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!
