Shout Out Louds

(Redirected from Optica (album))

Shout Out Louds is a Swedish indie pop band from Stockholm.

Shout Out Louds
Shout Out Louds performing at Sonorama Ribera festival 2011
Shout Out Louds performing at Sonorama Ribera festival 2011
Background information
OriginStockholm, Sweden
Genres
Years active2001–present
Labels
MembersEric Edman
Ted Malmros
Adam Olenius
Bebban Stenborg
Carl von Arbin
Websiteshoutoutlouds.com

History

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Formed in Stockholm by childhood friends Adam Olenius (vocals), Ted Malmros (bass), and Carl von Arbin (guitars), Shout Out Louds found an international audience during the early 2000s with their peppy Swedish pop. The lineup began taking shape in 2001, with drummer Eric Edman and keyboardist Bebban Stenborg climbing aboard shortly thereafter. Shout Out Louds wasted little time writing songs, the first three of which formed the basis of their first demo tape. The music caught the ear of Filip Wilén, owner of Sweden's Bud Fox Recordings, and he quickly signed the group to his label. Shout Out Louds then spent the majority of 2002 writing more songs, and December found them recording their debut EP, 100°, which was released in 2003. The group's high-energy, ultra-melodic sound was in place from the very beginning.

The band toured Sweden and Scandinavia in support of 100°, whose release was followed by two singles, "Hurry Up Let's Go" and "Shut Your Eyes." In October 2003, the group released its first album, Howl Howl Gaff Gaff, to great acclaim in Sweden. The band spent the following year touring, releasing additional material ("Please Please Please," "Very Loud/Wish I Was Dead," and the Oh, Sweetheart EP), and inking an American deal with Capitol Records. The U.S. version of Howl Howl Gaff Gaff was released in May 2005, featuring songs from the Swedish release plus some early singles and EP tracks. A tour of the U.S. with indie darlings the Dears helped boost the band's profile, as did airplay on The O.C.[1] Despite such growing success, the band's 2007 album "Our Ill Wills" produced by Björn Yttling was a somber, melancholy affair, replete with icy synths and Cure-inspired vocals. Another round of tour dates kept the bandmates busy until mid-2008, at which point they decided to take a half-year hiatus. March 2009 found the musicians reconvening in Stockholm to write new material, and by August the band had decamped to Seattle to begin recording with producer Phil Ek. Their third album, Work, arrived in early 2010. After coming home from a tour to support the album, the band members felt that a change in the way they worked was in order. Hoping to recapture the more relaxed spirit of earlier recordings, they spent time outside the studio composing the songs, with each band member responsible for coming up with their own parts. When they came back together, the band produced their next record themselves (with help from Johannes Berglund) in a small Stockholm studio. Optica was released by Merge in early 2013. The next few years saw a handful of solo releases from both Olenius and from Stenborg's Astropol project. Regrouping in Stockholm, the Shout Out Louds returned with 2017's more guitar-oriented Ease My Mind.

Band members

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The band in 2007
  • Adam Olenius – lead vocals, guitars
  • Ted Malmros – bass, percussion, backing vocals
  • Carl von Arbin – guitars, backing vocals
  • Eric Edman – drums, percussion
  • Bebban Stenborg – keyboards, synthesizers, accordion, glockenspiel, backing and occasional lead vocals

Discography

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Studio albums

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Album Title Album details Peak chart positions
SWE
[2]
AUT
[3]
GER
[4]
SWI
[5]
US
[6]
US
Heat

[6]
Howl Howl Gaff Gaff 35
Our Ill Wills
  • Released: 25 April 2007
  • Label: SME Sweden
  • Format: CD
9 7
Work
  • Released: 23 February 2010
  • Label: SME Sweden
  • Format: CD
21 30 76 200 5
Optica
  • Released: 26 February 2013
  • Label: SME Sweden
  • Format: CD
12 51 55 91 8
Ease My Mind
  • Released: 22 September 2017
  • Label: Merge
  • Format: CD
House
  • Released: 18 February 2022
  • Label: Bud Fox Recordings
  • Format: CD
  • 100° EP (2003)
  • Oh, Sweetheart EP (2004)
  • Very Loud EP (2004)
  • Combines EP (Remixes) (2006)

Singles

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Year Title Peak chart positions Album
SWE
[2]
GER
[4]
POR
[6]
SCO
[7]
SWI
[8]
UK
[9]
UK
Indie

[10]
US
Sales

[6]
US
Dance

[6]
2003 "100°" 30 100° EP
"Hurry Up Let's Go"
"Shut Your Eyes" 44 Howl Howl Gaff Gaff
2004 "Please Please Please" 41 53
"Oh Sweetheart" 43
"Very Loud" 75 110 23
2005 "The Comeback" 50 63
2007 "Tonight I Have to Leave It" 3 33 8 4 Our Ill Wills
2008 "Impossible" 15 5
2010 "Walls" Work
"Fall Hard" 70
2012 "Blue Ice" Optica
2013 "Walking in Your Footsteps" 99
"Illusions"
2017 "Oh Oh" Ease My Mind
"Jumbo Jet"
"Porcelain"
2018 "In New Europe" Non-album single
"Up the Hill"
2019 "Blue Christmas" A Merge Holiday Album
2021 "As Far Away as Possible" Non-album singles
"High as a Kite"
"—" denotes single that did not chart or was not released

Compilations

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  • SXSW: The Best of the West EP (15 March 2005) – "Never Ever"
  • DRIVE XV: A Tribute to Automatic for the People (2 October 2008) – "Man on the Moon"

References

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  1. ^ "Shout Out Louds – Artist profile". eventseeker.com. Retrieved 19 May 2020.
  2. ^ a b "Shout Out Louds – Swedish Charts". swedishcharts.com/ Hung Medien.
  3. ^ "Shout Out Louds – Austrian Charts". Hung Medien.
  4. ^ a b "Discographie Shout Out Louds". GfK Entertainment. Retrieved 12 August 2021.
  5. ^ "Shout Out Louds – Swiss Charts". Hung Medien.
  6. ^ a b c d e "Billboard.biz". Billboard.biz.
  7. ^ Peaks in Scotland:
  8. ^ "Schweizer Airplay Charts 13/2013 – hitparade.ch". hitparade.ch. Retrieved 25 February 2022.
  9. ^ "Shout Out Louds – UK Chart History". musicvf.com. Music VF. Retrieved 19 September 2014.
  10. ^ "Tonight I Have to Leave It Official Charts". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 11 September 2023.
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