Ease My Mind [LP]

by Shout Out Louds

Overview

Bringing with them a mood of gentle introspection, Sweden's Shout Out Louds return with their aptly titled fifth effort Ease My Mind. A warmly layered and self-reflective collection that is easy on the palate, the veteran band intentionally set out to create an album of dreamy escapist pop to act as a balm during a time of global discord and fear. In an era of rallying cries and impassioned artistic statements, the Stockholm quartet instead focus their lens inward to carry on doing what they do best: make appealing, slightly wistful indie pop. After 2010's low-key Phil Ek-produced Work album, Shout Out Louds opted to produce themselves, successfully stringing together their best attributes to record the excellent and more diverse Optica in 2013. Tonally, Ease My Mind falls somewhere in between those releases, with the mellow vibes of the former and the vibrant synth and dream pop textures of the latter. The band's knack for writing hooky guitar pop has remained consistent over the years and they offer a handful of gems here like the sunny "Paola," the hazy "White Suzuki," and the shoegazey "Crying Game." With its lush production and appealing slow groove, the Bebban Stenborg-sung title track is another album high point. At its brightest and densest, like on lead single "Oh Oh," Ease My Mind reaches the splendor the Shout Out Louds have proven themselves capable of. There is a sameness to the tone and tempo of many of the tracks causing much of the album to blend together, but if the whole affair doesn't quite reach the artistic highs of earlier releases, the band certainly make good on their soothing intent. ~ Timothy Monger

Product Details

Release Date:	09/22/2017
Label:	Merge
UPC:	0673855061016
Rank:	54625

Tracks

1. Jumbo Jet
2. Paola
3. Porcelain
4. White Suzuki
5. No Logic
6. Ease My Mind
7. Oh Oh
8. Throw Some Light
9. Crying Game
10. Souvenirs

Album Credits

Performance Credits

Shout Out Louds   Primary Artist
Lars Skoglund   Drums

Technical Credits

Lasse Marten   Mixing
Mans Lundberg   Producer
Henrik Jonsson   Mastering
Adam Olenius   Group Member,Art Direction
Shout Out Louds   Composer
Bebban Stenborg   Group Member
Fredrik Swahn   Producer
Ted Malmros   Group Member
Carl von Arbin   Group Member,Art Direction
Axel Algmark   Producer
Daniel Bengtson   Engineer