Optica
by Shout Out Louds
  • Record Label: Merge
  • Release Date: Feb 26, 2013
Metascore
69

Generally favorable reviews - based on 17 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 11 out of 17
  2. Mixed: 6 out of 17
  3. Negative: 0 out of 17
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  1. Q Magazine
    May 13, 2013
    60
    Functional yet uninspiring, Optica is pop as Ikea catalog. [Jun 2013, p.104]
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  2. The Fly (UK)
    May 9, 2013
    60
    In the end, it’s all a little too demure to really shout out loud about.
  3. Magnet
    Mar 15, 2013
    55
    It boasts Wembley-sized sound and a few huge singles that aspire to confuse Stockholm for a UK colony. [No. 96, p.59]
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  5. PopMatters
    Mar 8, 2013
    50
    The songs on Optica are a second, more confident assertion of this workmanlike incarnation of the band, but they still feel impermeable.
  6. Consequence
    Feb 27, 2013
    60
    With the jazz-flute-driven “Walking In Your Footsteps” rounding out the highlights, it’s these tracks that radiate the most, but the whole LP serves as a welcome illumination of the otherwise abandoned dance floor we call February.
  7. Pitchfork
    Feb 26, 2013
    58
    Much like its predecessor, Optica's pervasive mildness doesn't give you much to latch onto.

User Reviews

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User Score
8.0

Generally favorable reviews- based on 6 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 6 out of 6
  2. Mixed: 0 out of 6
  3. Negative: 0 out of 6
  1. buzzlight
    Mar 5, 2013
    8
    Never cared for The Shout Out Louds before. But, this album Optica is like Cocteau Twins perfected. It is yet another album in a long lineNever cared for The Shout Out Louds before. But, this album Optica is like Cocteau Twins perfected. It is yet another album in a long line of 80s electronic retro to come out in recent years (see Drive Soundtrack, Kavinsky, Divine Fits, Kaiser Chiefs, etc.). Optica feels like a well-thought-out ode to that era of music. Songs are restrained, well-written and easy to listen to. The instrumentals are so good, the singing frequently gets in the way. This will take a few more listens, but, one of the better albums in early 2013.… Full Review »
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