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. 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.
  2. 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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  3. Pitchfork
    Feb 26, 2013
    58
    Much like its predecessor, Optica's pervasive mildness doesn't give you much to latch onto.
  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. Q Magazine
    May 13, 2013
    60
    Functional yet uninspiring, Optica is pop as Ikea catalog. [Jun 2013, p.104]
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  7. The Fly (UK)
    May 9, 2013
    60
    In the end, it’s all a little too demure to really shout out loud about.

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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