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#10 OUR ILL WILLS / THE SHOUT OUT LOUDS [taste] [buy]

key tracks: you are dreaming / impossible / normandie / tonight i have to leave it / south america

in a year where the swedes couldn't do a single thing wrong [and i mean nuthin', nada, zilch, zippo], the shout out louds sophomore effort, 'our ill wills,' perfectly captured everything wonderful coming out sweden these days: choruses so massive you need a forklift and melodies so perfect you'd think they were the result of a mathematical equation. it's beautiful thing to behold.

despite the fact they were released in 2007, the thirteen tracks that make up 'our ill wills' are meticulously crafted paeans to pop songs of yesteryear, sounding as at home in 1987 as they do today. it's also pretty clear adam olenius and co. spent considerable time studying the cure's 'the head on the door' ['tonight i have to leave it' = 'in between days.' 'normandie' = 'close to me.']. it's quite the open love letter to one of the cure's seminal works. but 'our ill wills' no mere mimicry. it's anything but, actually. the shout out louds are uniquely their own band and 'our ill wills' is a lush, textured, smart, joyous album from start to finish. if it doesn't open your eyes to the power of pure pop music, let's face it, there's no hope for you.

[clicking 'taste' will let you download the album for your enjoyment. if you do enjoy it, i encourage you to buy it by clicking on the 'buy' link. amazon.com's mp3 are drm-free, meaning they are aren't locked or protected and can be transferred to any computer or mp3 device.]