INDIE POP
“Howl Howl Gaff Gaff”
Shout Out Louds
Capitol
There’s something deeply comforting about the music these sweet Swedes have bred. It’s like Great-Grandma Indie Pop cradling you in her chubby arms after you’ve fallen and skinned your knee. She tells you not to cry, not to worry, that you’ll feel better soon. And you do.
Elements of loosely woven chamber pop mingle with nerdy vocals, thoughtful strings and off-key backups in the music, which rocks a rhythm section so simple it’s admirable.
“The Comeback” is a head-nodder with cutesy keys and I-won’t-take-it-anymore lyrics. “Oh, Sweetheart” approaches songwriting via The Decemberists’ school, and it’s every bit as smart and distinctive as the work Colin Meloy is producing.
“Howl Howl Gaff Gaff” is a brazenly solid record, a U.S. debut that had the band cherry-picking from its previous Scandinavian releases. What else is out there? We can’t wait to see.
Shout Out Louds will support The Dears on Tuesday at the Climax Lounge. They open for Kings of Leon and Secret Machines on July 26 at the Paramount Theatre.
– Ricardo Baca
TRIP-HOP 101
“Unleashed”
Massive Attack
EMI
We love Massive Attack, but we’ll pass on this one.
The legendary U.K. trip-hop outfit scores a film here but calls it a soundtrack, a term that would lead fans to expect something more akin to their work on “Mezzanine.” Don’t be fooled. The bland background production here isn’t enough to warrant owning this CD.
I’ve seen “Unleashed,” which stars Jet Li as a man who was raised as a vicious dog by his cruel owner, played by a righteously wicked Bob Hoskins. While I’m not sure how a movie like this gets made, it’s unfortunate Massive Attack is tarnishing its image with this alternately subtle and snoozy backtrack.
– Ricardo Baca
ROCK
“You’re Speaking My Language”
Juliette & The Licks
Fiddler
Not that Juliette Lewis thinks much of her debut full-length album, but the CD opens with the actor/rock star singing “This one goes out, to the entire world! That’s right. Woo-o hoo!”
Lewis, star of “Cape Fear” and “Natural Born Killers,” is just the latest movie star trying to jump to music.
That “You’re Speaking My Language” doesn’t sound completely horrible is immaterial, because there’s so much other baggage involved. A discussion of the songs themselves becomes pointless: Why should we care about some pompous movie star’s vanity when we have plenty of pompous rock stars to digest?
For quality reference, put Lewis’ album somewhere above any Bruce Willis effort, below that weird recent William Shatner offering and about level with the work of Keanu Reeves’ Dogstar.
– Nick Groke