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Feb 26, 2013Thanks to the production, the overall strength of the songs, and the quietly intense energy the bandmembers put into their performances, Optica is a welcome return to form and solidifies Shout Out Louds' position as one of the best indie pop bands of their era.
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Alternative PressFeb 26, 2013It might not be Disintegration, but Optica confirms these Swedes as worthy acolytes. [Mar 2013, p.93]
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Feb 27, 2013Shout Out Louds have produced a great, light-hearted and warm album that will lift your spirits, mellow you out and make you dance.
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Feb 26, 2013There’s palpable relief when ‘Sugar’ gets proceedings underway and the thinking is all; 'Yes, Shout Out Louds, yes, this is how you start a record'--no dilly, precious little dally, instead wham-bam-slam straight into this behemoth of a pop tune.
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Mar 28, 2013Another collection of pop spells that beguile...here’s to at least 10 more years.
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Apr 29, 2013OK, at Disneyland. Yes, on drugs.
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Mar 26, 2013For the most part, though, Shout Out Louds match their musical grandeur with emotional grandeur. And messy romanticism is their natural milieu.
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Feb 27, 2013The better they’ve gotten at refining their craft, at writing the perfect chorus and combining them seamlessly with organic, vivid sonics, the further away they’ve gotten from the wounded empathy that drove their earlier records. At least ice burns. Optica too often feels like nothing at all.
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Feb 26, 2013Some 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.
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Apr 26, 2013For fans of expertly crafted summer toe-tappers, its gifts are ample enough for a summer fling, although perhaps few will be looking for more.
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Feb 28, 2013Bigger, richer, and more fun than its predecessor, Optica drips with hyperactive lyrics, icy synths, and string arrangements.